The Norwegian artist Edvard Munch is considered one of the leading exponents of  Decadentism straddling the nineteenth and twentieth century. Nowadays he can be viewed as the prophet of a new era of anxiety which pervades every aspect of our daily lives. To the figures of the objective reality, Munch opposes images of his tormented inner self, replacing the concrete aspects of the world with ghosts that haunt his intimacy.
Twisted images, gloomy and erotic obsessions, and complex fantasies find in Munch’s art a positive expression, using design and colour to express an inner world in a series of persistent figures: once created, they become matrixes of other emotions and of new increasingly twisted representations. The constant use of corrugated lines, the bright colours, the chromatic sinuosities, the omnipresent themes of violence and pain, are the elements that the Norwegian artist exploits to represent his subsidence to inner spectres overwhelmed by a terrifying anguish. Therefore, it is easy to understand why Munch can be considered one of the greatest artists of the modern era: his art is the evident symbol of the precarious and insane emotionality typical of contemporary men. He was one of the first great artists to highlight with strong intensity the loneliness of men and their existential tragedy.
Besides his great poetics, Edvard Munch is one of the most appreciated artists within the art market. His works are always very appreciated by collectors and precisely to respond to this need, auction houses are trying to satisfy their clients. For instance, next 3rd November Sotheby’s will auction a painting executed by Munch in 1894, entitled “Love and Pain”, better known as “Vampire”. This work is part of a compact group of single and self-sufficient pieces, dedicated to the life cycle, death and love and it is the only one that ended up in the hands of private collectors. Sold by Munch to his collector John Anker in 1903, it was passed over to another private collection in 1934, where it has been until today, expect for a ten-year period during which it was lent to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. 
The auction organized by Sotheby’s New York comes with record expectations. According to experts, it could be sold for more than 35 million dollars (more than 20 million euros). If expectations are met the current record of 30.8 million dollars, realised last May, will be thrashed.
We must not forget that Edvard Munch, besides being a virtuous painter, was a brilliant engraver, and was always able, even in this form of art, to express to his best his existential anguish. If you are interested in xylographs and lithographs by Munch, you must note down this appointment. On 24th November at the Grev Wedels Plass Auksjoner of Oslo there will be a very interesting sale entirely dedicated to Munch’s engravings. Altogether 39 lots of high technical and aesthetic quality. Among the most interesting lots there is a beautiful coloured lithograph, entitled “Angst” which will be presented to the salesroom public with an estimate between 6 and 8 million Norwegian krones. A work of art that expresses very well the cultural and philosophical spirit of its time, especially if we compare it with Schopenhauer and Kierkegaard’s ideas, in fact the latter introduced the word anguish, precisely angst, into the tradition of philosophy.
Besides this work, another lithograph to be auctioned is “Brosjen. Eva Moducci” which represents the famous English violinist, quoted in history as the artist’s lover.  The lithographic work will be presented with a valuation of 1-1.5 million Norwegian krones.
Other pieces worth watching out for are “Sick Child I” (estimate: 1.5-2 million Nok) and “Sick Child” (estimate 1.2-1.5 million Nok).  Both dedicated to the long agony of the master’s sick sister. In particular, in the former piece mentioned we see his dying sister accompanied by Lady Death, next to the bed where the almost dead body lies.
The most noteworthy lots of the auction organised by the Grev Wedels Plass Auksjoner on 24th November are: “The Kiss IV” (estimate 2-3 million Nok), “The Kiss” (estimate 1.2-1.5 million Nok), “Scketch for the Scientist/Alma Mater” (estimate 1-1.5 million Nok), but also  “Self Potrait” (estimate 700-900 thousand Nok), “Kvinne” (estimate 1-1.5 million Nok) and “Melancholy” (estimate 1.8-2 million Nok). (translated by Giorgina Arcuri)