NORWAY: Munch's stolen "The Scream" and "Madonna" shown after recovery

Norwegian painter Edvard Munch's masterpieces "The Scream" and "Madonna" were put on public display on Wednesday (September 27) for the first time after police recovered them in August, two years after they were stolen from an Oslo museum. At 10 a.m. the doors opened and visitors, young and old, had to go through rigourous security checks before entering the actual museum. "I think that it is easier to get into the Pentagon then to get into the Munch museum," Norwegian art fan Karl Erik Keller said after being frisked. No grumpy faces were to be seen though. "It is going to be quite something, quite something. It is going to be exciting to see the pictures," a Thai tourist said before entering the museum. The artworks, made in 1893, suffered damage in the hands of armed thieves who stole them from the Munch Museum in broad daylight in front of stunned tourists on August 22, 2004. German art student Markus Feder was surprised to see how damaged the paintings were. "I was wondering how much they where damaged and actually they are more damaged than I thought and I wonder what they did with them, the robbers". The exhibition will run from September 27 to October 1, before the restoration work begins. The Munch Museums curator, Ingebjoerg Ydstie, was delighted to be able to display the masterpieces to the public. "I feel that it is a day filled with joy, it is very nice to share the images with the public again." "The Scream", Munch's most famous work, is an icon of existential angst, showing a terrified figure against a blood-red sky. "Madonna" shows a bare-breasted woman with long black hair. The Norwegian police have not said how they regained the famous paintings. They have not made any new arrests or charges in connection with the recovery. Museum officials said on Tuesday (September 25) that they did not know where the paintings had been for over two years or how they had been damaged. Another version of "The Scream" was stolen in 1994 from Oslo's National Gallery by thieves who broke in through a window. It was recovered after several months by police posing as buyers.

ITN Source | September 27, 2006

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