Tracey Emin/Edvard Munch: The Loneliness of the Soul
Royal Academy of Arts, London
18.05. - 01.08.2021
https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/tracey-emin-edvard-munch
Royal Academy of Arts, London
18.05. - 01.08.2021
https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/tracey-emin-edvard-munch
19/05/2022
Isaac Munoz Puig
@izach_munoz
Few connections as strong are known among artists with as much time-space difference as Tracey Emin and Edvard Munch. Two artists who separated by 100 years of difference feel a way to create their works similarly. Tracey Emin presents The Loneliness of the Soul exhibition at the RA in London. An exhibition that collects 25 works by Tracey Emin, including painting, neons, and sculpture and 18 watercolor paintings by Edvard Munch personally chosen by Tracey Emin. As we know, Emin's works stand out for her great interest in portraying love, pain, desire, and loss, in the process of deconstruction of women, using herself to explore it. And it is at this moment that we find this point of union between these two artists. Munch had a great appreciation for the female figure and a great fascination in expressing the inner world (in this case women) as he called it "sjaelemaleri” or "soul paintings". This exhibition consists of a journey between loss, pain, suffering, and love, based on the perception of these two artists.
The curation of this exhibition is very significant. It consists of 4 different rooms, with the walls painted in navy blue that with the soft and discreet lighting, create a very intimate and quiet atmosphere, creating a perfect space to connect with the works and the artists.
“The most beautiful thing is honesty, even it’s really painful to look at” (cube, 2020)
After observing the exhibition several times and pondering all the emotions that it has provoked me, there is something that has caught my attention all along, and that, in my opinion, makes it even more interesting to observe the works. It is this sense of dialogue that exists between the paintings themselves. Munch watched femininity carefully, and in his works, it is reflected, and you can see the attention he paid to be able to understand them. On the other hand, Emin experiences these states and emotions. There are works, which seem to maintain a relationship and communication of emotions between them, where Munch manages to express and reflect the outside vision of the world of these women, while Emin expresses the explosion of emotions that exists in them.
An example of this communication is in Edvard Munch's Crouching Nude (1917-19), where we observe a woman who rests shrinks on a red cloth. And the work It – Didn't Stop – I Didn't Stop (2019) by Tracey Emin, where we found again a shrinked woman, but this time we do not know where she is, we only see her silhouette, and it seems to lose importance the place or the state of the body. Where falls the attention is on its head, which is painted by brushstrokes of blue, purple, and red. In Munch's painting, we can feel loneliness, anguish, and sadness, and for the factions of the woman's face, also angered and displeased. If we then look at Emin's picture, we can feel how these emotions we interpreted above come to life. The blue drops that glide through the canvas produce this feeling of hopeless sadness, and the thick brushstrokes of red moved with rage and strength, express this anger and displeasure.
Another situation of this communication would be with the painting The Death of Marat (1907) by Edvard Munch and Black Cat (2008) by Tracey Emin. In Munch's painting, we find a man stretched out on a bed (Munch) dead, and a naked standing woman who turns her back on the body (Tulla Larsen). Munch made this work, at a time in his life in which he lived the breakdown of his relationship with Tulla Larsen, and was inspired by the
story of Marat's murder by Charlotte Corday. In Emin’s Black Cat, we can observe a woman standing, looking at the viewer covered in black, with red paint on her feet, which could be interpreted as blood.
Tulla was one of the most important women in Munch's life. He was in love with her, and his breakup was a devastating blow to him. It is known that after his separation, Tulla married another man, and over time broke up with him too, and Munch expected her to return to him, but she married another man, and this fact ended up saddening Munch.
Knowing this information, by observing Munch's work, even though a painful scene is being portrayed for him, and this can be observed with the horizontal and vertical brushstrokes, which create a very hectic and violent atmosphere, it does not feel the same in her position. She is in a more distant posture and away from the emotions he feels (or at least this was Munch's perception). If we now go on to observe Emin's work, we see a woman who is located the same, with the difference that in this case, he is not. It seems that this time, instead of being focused on the emotions he suffered, her feelings come to light. Using the black paint that covers her face and forms her clothes, until she slips and fades into the boundaries of the fabric as an expression of this pain she also suffered.
This communication between the works of Munch and Emin is a surely pure chance since Emin created these works based on his own experiences. But as I said at the beginning, the connection between these two artists is so special and incomprehensible by the distance of time that separates them. But if there's one thing for sure, is that the way they perceived and expressed this inner world is so similar, and the union of them creates an enrichment of meaning and a force in the works that ends up creating complete harmony.
Bibliography:
Gray. S, (2021). Art Review: Tracey Emin/Edvard Munch: The Loneliness of the Soul. Available at: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2021/12-february/books-arts/visual-arts/art-review-tracey-eminedvard-munch-the-loneliness-of-the-soul
Holman. M, (2020). The Big Review - Tracey Emin/Edvard Munch: The Loneliness of the Soul. Available at: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/preview/tracey-emin-edvard-munch-the-loneliness-of-the-soul
Las Influencias femeninas de Edvard Munch. Available at: https://www.visitnorway.es/que-hacer-en-noruega/arte-cultura/edvard-munch/munch-y-las-mujeres/
McNay. A, (2020). Tracey Emin on her 40-year relationship with Edvard Munch. Available at: https://www.artfund.org/whats-on/more-to-see-and-do/features/tracey-emin-on-her-40-year-relationship-with-edvard-munch
The death of Marat. Available at: https://www.edvardmunch.org/death-of-marat.jsp
Isaac Munoz Puig
@izach_munoz
Few connections as strong are known among artists with as much time-space difference as Tracey Emin and Edvard Munch. Two artists who separated by 100 years of difference feel a way to create their works similarly. Tracey Emin presents The Loneliness of the Soul exhibition at the RA in London. An exhibition that collects 25 works by Tracey Emin, including painting, neons, and sculpture and 18 watercolor paintings by Edvard Munch personally chosen by Tracey Emin. As we know, Emin's works stand out for her great interest in portraying love, pain, desire, and loss, in the process of deconstruction of women, using herself to explore it. And it is at this moment that we find this point of union between these two artists. Munch had a great appreciation for the female figure and a great fascination in expressing the inner world (in this case women) as he called it "sjaelemaleri” or "soul paintings". This exhibition consists of a journey between loss, pain, suffering, and love, based on the perception of these two artists.
The curation of this exhibition is very significant. It consists of 4 different rooms, with the walls painted in navy blue that with the soft and discreet lighting, create a very intimate and quiet atmosphere, creating a perfect space to connect with the works and the artists.
“The most beautiful thing is honesty, even it’s really painful to look at” (cube, 2020)
After observing the exhibition several times and pondering all the emotions that it has provoked me, there is something that has caught my attention all along, and that, in my opinion, makes it even more interesting to observe the works. It is this sense of dialogue that exists between the paintings themselves. Munch watched femininity carefully, and in his works, it is reflected, and you can see the attention he paid to be able to understand them. On the other hand, Emin experiences these states and emotions. There are works, which seem to maintain a relationship and communication of emotions between them, where Munch manages to express and reflect the outside vision of the world of these women, while Emin expresses the explosion of emotions that exists in them.
An example of this communication is in Edvard Munch's Crouching Nude (1917-19), where we observe a woman who rests shrinks on a red cloth. And the work It – Didn't Stop – I Didn't Stop (2019) by Tracey Emin, where we found again a shrinked woman, but this time we do not know where she is, we only see her silhouette, and it seems to lose importance the place or the state of the body. Where falls the attention is on its head, which is painted by brushstrokes of blue, purple, and red. In Munch's painting, we can feel loneliness, anguish, and sadness, and for the factions of the woman's face, also angered and displeased. If we then look at Emin's picture, we can feel how these emotions we interpreted above come to life. The blue drops that glide through the canvas produce this feeling of hopeless sadness, and the thick brushstrokes of red moved with rage and strength, express this anger and displeasure.
Another situation of this communication would be with the painting The Death of Marat (1907) by Edvard Munch and Black Cat (2008) by Tracey Emin. In Munch's painting, we find a man stretched out on a bed (Munch) dead, and a naked standing woman who turns her back on the body (Tulla Larsen). Munch made this work, at a time in his life in which he lived the breakdown of his relationship with Tulla Larsen, and was inspired by the
story of Marat's murder by Charlotte Corday. In Emin’s Black Cat, we can observe a woman standing, looking at the viewer covered in black, with red paint on her feet, which could be interpreted as blood.
Tulla was one of the most important women in Munch's life. He was in love with her, and his breakup was a devastating blow to him. It is known that after his separation, Tulla married another man, and over time broke up with him too, and Munch expected her to return to him, but she married another man, and this fact ended up saddening Munch.
Knowing this information, by observing Munch's work, even though a painful scene is being portrayed for him, and this can be observed with the horizontal and vertical brushstrokes, which create a very hectic and violent atmosphere, it does not feel the same in her position. She is in a more distant posture and away from the emotions he feels (or at least this was Munch's perception). If we now go on to observe Emin's work, we see a woman who is located the same, with the difference that in this case, he is not. It seems that this time, instead of being focused on the emotions he suffered, her feelings come to light. Using the black paint that covers her face and forms her clothes, until she slips and fades into the boundaries of the fabric as an expression of this pain she also suffered.
This communication between the works of Munch and Emin is a surely pure chance since Emin created these works based on his own experiences. But as I said at the beginning, the connection between these two artists is so special and incomprehensible by the distance of time that separates them. But if there's one thing for sure, is that the way they perceived and expressed this inner world is so similar, and the union of them creates an enrichment of meaning and a force in the works that ends up creating complete harmony.
Bibliography:
Gray. S, (2021). Art Review: Tracey Emin/Edvard Munch: The Loneliness of the Soul. Available at: https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2021/12-february/books-arts/visual-arts/art-review-tracey-eminedvard-munch-the-loneliness-of-the-soul
Holman. M, (2020). The Big Review - Tracey Emin/Edvard Munch: The Loneliness of the Soul. Available at: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/preview/tracey-emin-edvard-munch-the-loneliness-of-the-soul
Las Influencias femeninas de Edvard Munch. Available at: https://www.visitnorway.es/que-hacer-en-noruega/arte-cultura/edvard-munch/munch-y-las-mujeres/
McNay. A, (2020). Tracey Emin on her 40-year relationship with Edvard Munch. Available at: https://www.artfund.org/whats-on/more-to-see-and-do/features/tracey-emin-on-her-40-year-relationship-with-edvard-munch
The death of Marat. Available at: https://www.edvardmunch.org/death-of-marat.jsp
