EDI: ART and WRITING

Good job girls!!! I believe we all enjoyed your roleplaying and the creativity of your stories.
Here's all of them, info about painters and some photos for you to enjoy.
TASK: choose one story (except your own) and change the end. Publish it on the blog, indicating which story you've selected. Make a brief comment about something that amazed you about the painter's life. Deadline:  May 21st.

GROUP 1: Luciana, Mailén, Mavi

                                            Der Schrei der Natur (The Scream of Nature)

Painter:

Edvard Munch ( 1863 -1944) was a Norwegian painter and printmaker whose intensely evocative treatment of psychological themes built upon some of the main tenets of late 19th-century Symbolism and greatly influenced German Expressionism in the early 20th century. One of his most well-known works is The Scream of 1893.

Edvard Munch grew up in Norway’s capital, Oslo, then called Christiania. His father, Christian Munch– was a deeply religious military doctor. His wife died of tuberculosis when Edvard was only five years old, and Edvard’s older sister, Sophie, died of the disease at the age of 15. Edvard himself was often ill. A younger sister was diagnosed with mental illness at an early age. Of the five siblings only one, Andreas, ever married, only to die a few months after the wedding.

His childhood home was culturally stimulating, but in his art Munch turned again and again to the memory of illness, death and grief.

Studies and influences

In 1879, Munch enrolled in a technical college to study engineering, where he excelled in physics, chemistry, and math. He learned scaled and perspective drawing, but frequent illnesses interrupted his studies. The following year, much to his father's disappointment, Munch left the college determined to become a painter.

In 1881, Munch enrolled at the Royal School of Art and Design of Christiania. During these early years in his career, Munch experimented with many styles, including Naturalism and Impressionism. After numerous experiments, Munch concluded that the Impressionist idiom did not allow sufficient expression. He found it superficial and too akin to scientific experimentation. He felt a need to go deeper and explore situations brimming with emotional content and expressive energy. Munch began a period of reflection and self-examination, recording his thoughts in his "soul's diary". This deeper perspective helped move him to a new view of his art. He wrote that his painting The Sick Child (1886), based on his sister's death, was his first "soul painting", his first break from Impressionism. He began to carefully calculate his compositions to create tension and emotion. While stylistically influenced by the Post-Impressionists, what evolved was a subject matter which was symbolist in content, depicting a state of mind rather than an external reality. In 1889, Munch presented his first one-man show of nearly all his works to date. The recognition it received led to a two-year state scholarship to study in Paris.

 The years in France

At that time a Post-Impressionist breakthrough was in progress along with different anti-naturalist experiments. This had a liberating effect on Munch.

The first autumn, shortly after Munch arrived in France, he was informed that his father had died. The loneliness and melancholy in the painting “Night” (1890) are often seen with this in mind.

At the Autumn Exhibition in Kristiania in 1891 Munch showed among other works “Melancholy”. Great curved lines and more homogeneous colour surfaces dominate here. At this time Munch did the first sketches of the well-known “The Scream”. “The Scream” is often described as the first expressionistic picture, and is the most extreme example of Munch’s “soul paintings”. The facial expression depends to a large degree on the painting’s dynamics, the colours and lines. The scene – and particularly the foreground figure – are grotesquely distorted and rendered in colours that are not taken from external reality. Coming as it does from Munch’s own “inner hell”, the painting visualizes a desperate aspect of fin-de-siècle: anxiety and apocalypse.

 Success and crisis

In the early years of the new century artistic success was accompanied by personal conflicts. Alcohol had become a problem, and Munch was emotionally unstable. He was plagued by the memories of his tragic love affair, which had come to a dramatic end with a revolver scene in 1902, permanently injuring a finger on Munch’s left hand. He never got over this incident, but during these years it became an obsession. The woman’s features can be seen in “Death of Marat” (two versions from 1907), a motif which more generally can be said to portray “the battle called love between men and women”.

New motifs from this period show signs of a more extroverted orientation. “Bathing Men” (1907-08) is a vigorous tribute to vital manliness. However, his alcohol and mental problems reached a critical point, and Munch decided to spend eight months at a clinic in Copenhagen. Norway finally opened its eyes to his artistic talent, and he was awarded the Order of St. Olav during his stay at the clinic.

Back in Norway

From 1909 and for the rest of his life Munch resided in Norway. Here he painted several classic winter landscapes. Munch lived to a steadily greater degree in self-chosen isolation, surrounded only by his pictures.

In his later years Munch painted a number of studies and compositions using a model. Some of these have a vigorous and life-embracing quality, while in others he continued to explore the conflict-filled themes of the 1890s. He continued to produce a considerable number of graphics, including a number of lithographic portraits. Before Munch died in January 1944, he had willed his large collection of pictures and biographical and literary notes to the City of Oslo. Consequently, the Munch Museum, dedicated in 1963, has a unique collection of Munch’s art and other material which illuminates all phases of the artistic process.

Story:

A scream in the night

 It is late in the evening and a heavy fog can be seen from the outskirts of a quiet village called Shadowland. A lonely wind whistles through leafless trees while a full moon illuminates a dark and calm lake that crosses through the sleepy village. The streets are desolated and not a soul is spotted in the night.

The tranquility of the place is suddenly interrupted by a horrifying scream. Father Uriah is running desperately along a bridge like a mad person, until he stops as he witness something creepy. Shaking like a leave, he remains standing still. In front of him is a blurred image of a young woman, with a pale complexion and a penetrating gaze. The priest doesn’t recognize her at first, but after staring at the spectrum for some seconds, he realizes that it is Lady Elizabeth. Elizabeth was a respectable young lady from a high social class, well-known for her beauty and good manners.  She was very attached to priest Uriah as she was a devoted Catholic. A year ago, she had married Mr. Woodhouse, an unknown foreign man, owner of an iron factory who had come to England to deal with important businesses. It is said that during their honeymoon in a luxurious and expensive yacht, Lady Elizabeth dropped off and drown in the lake. However, her body was never found.

Father Uriah can’t believe what his eyes are seeing.

“Help me…help me…” Lady Elizabeth says in a moan.

“La- Lady Elizabeth?... Is that you?” Asks the Priest with a trembling voice.
“Yes, Father…- says as she nods with a sad expression- I need your help”

“But…What can I do for you?... I don’t think I can…help you” he says with a more relaxed attitude.

“I’m sure you can do more than you imagine… Mr. Woodhouse is getting married again…” – as she says that, the Priest stares at her with suspicion- I need you to stop it, and save that poor young lady… from a terrible end.”

“What? I don’t get it… Mr. Woodhouse is an honorable and respectable man… You knew him”- he explains to her.

“I knew him very well. He was anything but a good man! How do you think I died?”

“Oh my God!...Are you trying to say that..Mr. Woodhouse is…is…”- Father Uriah is trying not to speak that word.

“A murderer”- she admits confidently.

“But why? He seems a nice person…”

“Greed - she says gravely- greed for money…greed for power.”                              

“I can´t believe it!- he says in astonishment- Though I can still don’t know how to solve this!”

“You will know”- she says as her image vanishes in the breeze.
Walking thoughtful along the bridge, Father Uriah goes towards the church. He needs to rest and think things better as he is still in a great shock.

The amusing singing of birds wakes Father Uriah up while some sun lights enter through his bedroom curtains. As he sits in his bed, some images from the previous night come to his mind. “It wasn’t a dream!”- he says to himself. Hurriedly he gets dressed and dashes towards Mr. Woodhouse’s mansion.

“Mr. Woodhouse will be here in a minute, father – says one of the mansion’s maids- Please, have a sit.
“Father Uriah! What a lovely surprise to see you here!”-  Cried Mr. Woodhouse
“Oh, thank you! It is nice to see you too!”
“Now…What brings you here, father?”

“Err…well…I was passing by and decided to stop for a minute and see how well you are doing with the wedding...”

“Well…you know…that’s a women’s matter. I just leave to my fiancée.”
“Yes, you are right- says Uriah- You are too busy to worry about that kind of things.”

“Absolutely! I’m a busy man”- admits Mr. Woodhouse.

“Yes, I know… And, between us, how do you feel about getting married again?”

“You well know that I’ve gone through a lot of pain because of Elizabeth’s …death! It was a terrible lost for me. But I have to move on”

“Of course, it was a pity that she died so young… and in such a silly way!”- says with a rasping voice- Help me remember, did she die when you were sailing in Munch Lake, didn’t she?”

“Yes, but I don’t want to talk about that. It was an accident. That’s all!”
“Oh! How time flies! I don’t want to delay you anymore. I should better go!”

“Never mind, father, you know you’re always welcome in this house!”

“Goodbye! Bless you, my sun!”

After a couple of hours travelling by carriage, Father Uriah arrives at Munch Village, a picturesque landscape chosen by rich and powerful people to spend their vacations. Surrounding the village was the Lake where it is said Lady Elizabeth drown. Near the harbor, where the most luxurious boats and yachts are anchored, there is a small cottage, which he thinks it’s a good starting point for investigation.

Outside the cottage is a miserable man of middle age who is occupied in preparing his things to go fishing as usual. He is about to go when he faces Father Uriah.

“Hello, my dear friend.  I’m Father Uriah, nice to meet you” says the priest kindly.

“Err…hello father, nice to meet you too. How can I help you?”

“Eh…you’ll see…I was said that in this lake, there was an accident of a young girl a year ago” “Have you heard anything about it?”

“Err...I’m afraid I haven’t, father, and if you excuse me I’m pretty busy right now,” says the man trying to avoid the conversation.

“Please, please my dear friend, do help me!” “I feel that you know something. I need to know what happen to my poor Elizabeth! And save another woman from the same disgrace!” cries the father.

“To save another woman? - says the man confused - Is he going to get married again?”

“So you know him! Mr. Woodhouse, I mean”

“Yes… I… I look after his yacht”

“So, could you please tell me something about what happened that night?”

The man breaks down and cries uncontrollably. He sits and places his hands over his eyes and starts telling Father Uriah what happened that horrible night.

“Mr. Woodhouse planned everything! He killed that woman for money and threatened me to help him with the murder! And said that if I didn’t do it he would kill me too!”

“And then he obliged me to bury the body in the woods!”

“Oh! What have I done?! Please father, do forgive my sin!” the man yields in agony as he kneels in front of the priest.

“You’re forgiven, my son, the Lord can see that you’re repentant” says the priest kindly while he strikes the head of the wretched man. 

“Now, I had better go. I have to sort this out immediately before something terrible happens.”

As soon as Uriah leaves the poor man’s cottage, he goes directly to the Police to inform them what he has just discovered.

After Father Uriah’s statement against Mr. Woodhouse, the Police go immediately in search for Lady Elizabeth’s body as well as Mr. Woodhouse, who is the only accused of murdering his own wife.

Midnight is getting closer and repetitive and loud knocks are heard in Mr. Woodhouse’s door. A confused maid receives the Police in the hall of the great mansion as she explains that Mr. Woodhouse does not live there anymore. In fact, she announces that the mansion has just been sold and Mr. Woodhouse is never to come back. Without any compassion, he has left behind his fiancée and the wedding was cancelled.
Now with Mr. Woodhouse gone, it will be very difficult for the Police to apply the law. He must be really far from there. A place where no one could  ever  find him.

Father Uriah is in the church praying for Lady Elizabeth’s soul when her spirit appears once again. But this time her image is clearer and her face shows her inner peace.
“Father Uriah…thanks you! – she says with a wide smile- You don’t need to pray for me anymore. I’m in heaven now!”
“Oh my dear Elizabeth! - he cries with deep emotion- I’m so pleased to hear that you’re with God now!”
“But why do you look so sad?”
“Because I failed you… The Police couldn’t catch him…” – says the devastated priest.
“That’s not true! You have saved that young lady from that monster!”
“Oh! Well…If you put it that way…- says Uriah trying to convince himself”
“And thanks to you…my soul is no longer in pain. I can rest in peace now”

So she disappears, never to return again.

THE END

 

GROUP 2: Gina, Rocío, Laura

                                                              Harmonie Jaune

The Painter: Henri Matisse

Henri Émile Benoit Matisse was born in a tiny cottage in the textile town of Le Cateau Cambrésis in the evening on the last night of the year, 31 December 1869, and died on November 3^rd, 1954. He was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter. Matisse is commonly regarded, along with Picasso and Marcel Duchamp, as one of the three artists who helped to define the revolutionary developments in the plastic arts in the opening decades of the 20^th Century, responsible for significant developments in painting and sculpture. Some of his early paintings are: Blue Pot and Lemon; Fruit and Coffeepot; Vase of Sunflowers and Crockery on a table.

STORY

NARRATOR: Last Friday night Harmonie was waiting in her department for her close friend Laura to arrive. They hadn’t seen each other for a long time and they wanted to have dinner to clarify some unresolved issues. They had known each other since Harmonie had moved in next to Laura’s house when she was six years old. From that day onwards their friendship had grown more and more. The pair had the same tastes and both wanted to become doctors. So they promised to enter university together and finish the career at the same time.

                         Harmonie’s parents were well-off, however, Laura’s belonged to the low-class society. For that reason, Harmonie could enter university but Laura couldn’t. Thus, she got angry with her friend as she hadn’t fulfilled their promise and had done nothing to help her. Since that episode, they split up.

                        No sooner was Harmonie setting the table than the bell rang.

HARMONIE: Hi Laura! My God, you look so different!

LAURA: Hi. Such a long time.

HARMONIE: Come in. I have just finished setting the table. I have prepared turkey, do you like it?

LAURA: Emmm…it’s not my favourite meal but…it’s ok.

HARMONIE: Oh, what a pity! Anyway, I’m sure you’ll like it. Sit down, we have to talk, don’t we?

LAURA: Of course, that’s why I’m here.

HARMONIE: I know you are a bit bothered because I broke our promise, but… I want you to know that I didn’t do it on purpose, I tried to give up the career but my parents forced me to keep on studying because they wanted me to be a professional. The problem is that you never gave me the opportunity to explain this to you before. I’m really so sorry about that.

LAURA: I understand you but you know it was very painful for me not to enter university and besides I couldn’t stand losing contact with you.

HARMONIE: You’re right, but now we can fix our relationship and forget about the past.

LAURA: Yes, I agree with you. Let’s talk about our lives…I miss our conversations about boys and all that. Are you dating someone?

HARMONIE: Yeah, I’m starting a relationship with a guy I met at the disco a month ago. He works there as a member of the security staff.

LAURA: Oh, I’m happy for you! And where is that disco in which you met him?

HARMONIE: High Disco, at 27^th Halley Avenue.

LAURA: Oh, what a coincidence! My boyfriend works there as a member of the security staff, too. Maybe they know each other. What does he look like?

HARMONIE: He is so cute! He is a tall well-built man with short spiky black hair, small brown eyes and a beautiful broad smile which lights up his face whenever he laughs. I fell in love with him the moment I saw him.

NARRATOR: Surprised and confused, Laura realized that the description of that boy was exactly the same as that of her boyfriend. As she was listening to Harmonie’s words she felt a strong angst. At the same time, her eyes and her heart were full of hate. She feared that Harmonie’s lover was her own guy.

                          She wanted to ask her his name, although she was not prepared to hear it.

LAURA: Wait, what’s his name?

HARMONIE: Stephen, you see…even his name sounds perfect!

NARRATOR: Laura discovered that she was not wrong about her suspicions, but she preferred to remain calm in order not to show any sign of anger. However, from the bottom of her heart, she was planning her revenge.

LAURA: It’s cold in here, would you like a cup of tea? I’ll prepare one.

HARMONIE: Sure! How nice you are. Do you want me to help you?

LAURA: No, no, it’s ok. I’ll prepare it by myself. But can I go to the bathroom first?

HARMONIE: Sure, it’s at the end of the corridor.

NARRATOR: Laura’s real intention was finding something to kill Harmonie. She looked in the medicine cabinet and found a powerful drug. She was extremely furious. She couldn’t bear another treason from her friend. So she took the drug and went to the kitchen so as to make the tea and, without hesitation, added some of the fatal liquid to it.

LAURA: Here you are…I hope you like it.

HARMONIE: Thanks! Mmm..it’s delicious! We haven’t talked about your life. I don’t know, tell me something.

LAURA: Well, actually I’m working at a clothing store downtown. I have a good salary and…

HARMONIE: Sorry, I’m not feeling well…I think I’m… (passed out)

LAURA: I forgot to tell you that the guy you told me about was MY boyfriend. I hope you have enjoyed your last tea. (laughs and leaves the room)

NARRATOR: Having killed Harmonie, she proceeded to complete her revenge by killing Stephen.

GROUP 3: Victoria, Virginia, Josefina

                                                  Cafe Terrace on the Place du Forum

The painter: Vincent  Van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh was born in the Netherlands on March, 30 1853. He was a Dutch post-Impressionist painter whose work, notable for its rough beauty, emotional honesty, and bold color, had a far-reaching influence on 20th-century art. After years of painful anxiety and frequent bouts of mental illness, he died at the age of 37 from a gunshot wound, generally accepted to be self-inflicted (although no gun was ever found).

Van Gogh spent his early adulthood working for a firm of art dealers, traveling between The Hague, London and Paris, after which he taught for a time in England. One of his early aspirations was to become a pastor and from 1879 he worked as a missionary in a mining region in Belgium where he began to sketch people from the local community. In 1885, he painted his first major work The Potato Eaters. His palette at the time consisted mainly of somber earth tones and showed no sign of the vivid coloration that distinguished his later work. In March 1886, he moved to Paris and discovered the French Impressionists. During his stay in Paris, Vincent produced his most important and famous works of art. Surrounded by lots of impressionists, he developed his own style, for which he is recognized all over the world.  

Later, he moved to the south of France and was impacted by the strong sunlight he found there. His work grew brighter in color, and he developed the unique and highly recognizable style that became fully realized during his stay in Arles in 1888.

Van Gogh developed his work surrounded by impressionist artist. Impressionism is an art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870’s and 1880’s in spite of harsh opposition from the community in France. Characteristics of Impressionist paintings include relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes; open composition; emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time); common, ordinary subject matter; the inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience; and unusual visual angles.

However, Van Gogh is considered to be a post-impressionist painter. Post-impressionism derived from Impressionism. The difference is that, even though artists continued using vivid colours, thick application of paint, distinctive brush strokes, and real-life subject matter, they also were more inclined to emphasize geometric forms, to distort form for expressive effect, and to use unnatural or arbitrary colour.

During his life, Van Gogh had some mental problems, and in 1889, he experienced a deterioration in his mental health. For this reason, he was committed to hospital, in the hope that his health would improve. However, his mental condition did not improve.

On 27 July 1890, aged 37, van Gogh shot himself in the chest with a revolver, and he died in the evening, 29 hours after he shot himself.

                                                                         STORY

The mysterious exhibition.

It was a freezing cold morning in Paris and Jason had arrived to work earlier than usual. He had tons of work to do, and he was determined to get it done by the end of the day. As he entered, he realized a new Van Gogh exhibition had arrived in order to be shown during the whole month. He took a glimpse at it while he was walking towards the service room. But he stood still in front of one which had always fascinated him.

All of a sudden he could see a shadow out of the corner of his eye. He jumped, afraid of him. But, when he saw the man standing beside him he felt no more fear.

“Oh! I didn’t realize that the doors were already open”.

“They are not. I was just passing by, and stopped to appreciate this new work of art”.

Jason felt confused and, without paying attention to the man, he went on with his work”

But some minutes later, he realized the man was still there, and he started to feel uncomfortable.

“I know that place by heart, you know?” the artist said. “I have been there many, many times”

“Really?” said Jason indifferently.

“Yes. That’s where I met the woman who would drive me crazy for love”.

The artist started to explain the painting without having been asked to do so.

“This is clearly a romantic scene. That café there used to catch the attention of lots of people, you know. People just enjoyed gathering there…  Love was in the air. You could feel it.

So Jason said, “I think you are mistaken, my friend, because this place was destroyed fifty years ago. You are too young, so there’s no way you could have ever been there”.

“Well, in fact I was” he confirmed strongly.

Jason was not interested in discussing that with a man he didn’t even know. So he decided to keep on doing his tedious work with. However, the stranger seemed enthusiastic about it, and went on arguing.

“I remember it as if I had been there yesterday”

Not saying a word, Jason starred at him as the man whispered, “it was not long ago, actually. I met her there. She looked lovely in that dress. That little table over there, can you see it? we sat there and I had the greatest moment of my life. Everything was gorgeous, the stars were twinkling, the moon was shinning, everything was wonderful. And I… I proposed to her. And you know what she said?... She said ‘yes’”. The stranger made a pause, sighed and went on with his speech.

“And here comes the sad part of the story… She died. She died even before I could ask for her hand in marriage. That’s why I painted this, because it represents the happiest day of my life… of a life that died with her, that same day”

After the artist had confessed his deepest secret about the painting, Jason seemed baffled, and when he was about to inquire the stranger how such story could be true, a crowd started to enter the room, so he kept quiet. Suddenly, another person attracted by the same piece of art, approached them. However, instead of admiring the painting, he fixed his eyes on this strange man, the one who claimed having done the work.

 At the first moment, they didn’t realize that a third person had joined them. But, as the situation became awkward, Jason decided to stay calm and avoid the uncomfortable conversation.

Meanwhile, keeping his eyes on the stranger, the visitor asked him, “Vincent! Is that you, Vincent?”

The man behaved as if he hasn’t heard him, but as Jason had turned round, he couldn’t pretend any more, and asked, “Sorry, what have you just said?”

“This man…” said the viewer “This man, is Vincent Van Gogh! Haven’t you heard of him?”

“Of course I have. But Vincent Van Gogh died years ago!”

“No! It’s him! I know it’s him! Can’t you see him? Vincent, say something!”

As Jason couldn’t believe him, he exclaimed naively, “What is this man talking about?”

“That was what I was trying to explain before, but you wouldn’t hear”

Jason, in a range, muttered, “But… what? I mean… Is this..? Could this..? If what you are saying is true, then prove it!”

By this moment, people in the gallery were staring at them. The man gazed at the supposed Vincent, and cried the heart out of him, “Vincent, tell him! Show him your left ear!”

Vincent, ashamed, took of his hat and showed Jason that he had no left ear at all. Jason couldn’t believe his eyes, and completely astonished he fainted.