[MSN] Recovered Munch paintings may be displayed 'as is'

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

Recovered Munch paintings may be displayed 'as is'
So high is public interest in the stolen Munch paintings recovered last week that calls are going out that they be displayed immediately, before repairs are made on damage they sustained during their theft. At least one conservator thinks an 'as is' display is a good idea.

Costly repairs will be made to artist Edvard Munch's Madonna and The Scream no matter what, but Munch Museum officials are mulling requests to display them for a short period in exactly the condition in which they were found last week after being stolen two years ago.

Tor Sannerud, head of Oslo's visitors' bureau, thinks a special, short-term exhibit with documentation showing what's happened to the paintings is a good idea.

"If the damage isn't so severe that showing them prior to restoration would worsen their condition, I thinks it's an interesting possibility," Sannerud told newspaper Aftenposten over the weekend.

He thinks the interest in the Munch Museum will increase regardless, now that the two paintings are back.

Mille Stein, a conservator and art researcher who's earlier worked on restoration of other Munch paintings, also thinks that displaying the damaged paintings before repairs is a good idea, if their condition allows.

Stein said it could be interesting for the public to see how the paintings have been handled, and what they've been through. "It depends, though, on whether there's a lot of loosened paint on the artworks, and that's not easy for an amateur to see," she said.

The paintings are currently under police examination for any DNA traces linked to their abductors. Then the art experts will take over, to determine the extent of the damage and what repairs are necessary.

Munch expert Hans Richard Elgheim isn't keen on a pre-repair exhibit. "I think it's unnecessary that the paintings be reduced to monuments over criminal activity," he said. "I can understand the public's curiosity, but the Munch Museum is an art museum, not a crime museum."

Museum officials aren't dismissing the idea of showing the paintings "as is," pending the evaluation of the experts. They promise the paintings will be exhibited as soon as possible, regardless.

http://www.aftenposten.no/