In Oslo, armed robbers stole one of several known versions of "The Scream" along with "Madonna"
(Caution! This art is totally NSFW!). These two iconic works by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch are considered impossible to sell because they're so well-known. In other words, odds may be high that they'll end up destroyed. One of the paintings was the subject of an earlier failed ransom demand. Snip from Reuters report:
Two masked robbers ran into the Munch Museum, threatened staff with a gun and forced people to lie down before taking "The Scream", an icon of existentialist angst showing a waif-like figure against a blood-red sky, and "Madonna". They escaped in a black Audi A6 driven by a third man. The pictures, worth millions of dollars and among Munch's best-known works, were later cut from their frames which were found in another part of the city.
Link to news story with highly suspect product placement for the Audi A6. What? You thought international art thieves drove art cars?
(Ed. note: Any resemblance between Munch's Madonna and the SG ads in upper right hand corner of this blog is entirely coincidental; besides, the SG ads are cropped for modesty. )
Update: This analysis piece in the London News Review has more background:
The Scream is not only Edvard Munch's most famous work, it is also his most stolen. A different version of The Scream (having more than one version helps) was purloined in 1994 during the Winter Olympics, and recovered after 3 months. This fact — that The Scream is forever being stolen — has added a new layer of meaning to the original. The sickly fear, the angst which radiates out from the ghoulish face of the screamer, is now shot through with the uncertainty that at any moment the canvas might be wrenched from the wall and shoved in the boot of an Audi. The scream is as much a cry of help as a cry of anguish. The strange stretched lips twist to form the plaintive words: "Please stop stealing me" — but in the empty eyes you can see the dreadful certainty that the theft will take place.
Link (Thanks, Yoni)
