「叫び」に隠された「狂人」落書き、ムンク直筆と断定

【オスロＡＦＰ＝時事】ノルウェーの美術館は、同国出身の画家、エドバルト・ムンクの代表作「叫び」（1893年）にある「狂人」の落書きをしたのは、ムンク本人だったと結論付けた。落書きの主は長年にわたり謎とされていた。（写真はノルウェーの画家エドバルト・ムンク作「叫び」。同国国立美術館提供）
　落書きは、ムンクが残した「叫び」４作のうちの一つの左上部分にある。鉛筆を使いノルウェー語で「狂人にしか描けない」と書かれているが、肉眼ではほとんど見えない。誰が書き込んだものかはっきりしていなかったが、２０世紀初頭に同作を鑑賞し不満を持った人が書いたという説が有力だった。
　今回、ノルウェーの国立美術館の専門家らは赤外線技術を使って筆跡を分析し、ムンク本人が書いたものだと結論付けた。学芸員のマイ・ブリット・グレング氏は発表で、「この筆跡は間違いなくムンク自身のもの」と説明。「筆跡そのものに加え、ムンクがノルウェーでこの絵画を初めて展示した１８９５年に起きた出来事のすべてが同じことを示している」と述べた。
　ムンクが現在の同国首都オスロでこの作品を初めて一般公開した際、激しい批判の声が上がりムンクの精神状態に疑問が投げかけられた。グレング氏によると、これを受けてムンクは直後にこの書き込みをした可能性が高い。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/02/24-13:54）

A mysterious inscription on Edvard Munch's famed painting 'The Scream' has stymied the art world for years, but Norwegian experts have now concluded it was written by none other than the artist himself.
Barely visible to the naked eye, the phrase 'Can only have been painted by a madman' is written in pencil in Norwegian in the upper left corner of the iconic painting.
The dark painting from 1893, now a symbol of existential angst, depicts a humanlike figure standing on a bridge, clutching its head in apparent horror against the backdrop of a swirling sky.
The author of the phrase has long been a mystery, with the main theory until now holding that it was a disgruntled viewer who penned it at the beginning of the 20th century on one of the four versions made by Munch.
But, using infrared technology to analyse the handwriting, experts at Norway's National Museum have now concluded that it was the artist himself.
The writing is without a doubt Munch's own, museum curator Mai Britt Guleng said in a statement.
The handwriting itself, as well as events that happened in 1895, when Munch showed the painting in Norway for the first time, all point in the same direction.
The first showing of the work to the public in Oslo -- then known as Kristiania -- provoked furious criticism and raised questions about Munch's mental state, which, according to Guleng, likely prompted Munch to write the inscription on the canvas shortly afterwards.
A pioneer of expressionism, Munch was haunted by the premature deaths of several family members, including his mother and his sister Johanne Sophie, due to illness. In 1908, he was temporarily committed to a psychiatric hospital.
This version of The Scream was stolen in 1994, the opening day of the Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer. It was recovered several months later.
The masterpiece will again go on display when the National Museum reopens in a new building in 2022.