Gothic in modern art

The exhibition Gothic Modern: From Darkness to Light will focus on works of art from the period 1875 to 1925 that deal with the dark, the frightening and the inexplicable. The National Museum in Oslo dedicates the show to a Gothic aesthetic at the beginning of modern art. The powerful paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures aim for a strong emotional response from the audience while addressing socially relevant themes: War, grief, illness, hope, love, the search for identity and the role of the individual in society. The exhibits are in dialog with works from the late Gothic period in the 15th century. These works display a certain apocalyptic mood, as people believed in the end of the world in 1500. Gothic Modern: From Darkness to Light is the first exhibition to make this particular juxtaposition possible. It can be seen in Oslo from February 28 to June 15.

The show is divided into seven chapters: Journeys to the Gothic, Pilgrims of art, Encounters with death, Community and traditions, Gothic variations, Love and attraction and From darkness to light. Works by Max Beckmann, Arnold Böcklin, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Theodor Kittelsen, Käthe Kollwitz, George Minne, Edvard Munch, Hugo Simberg, Marianne Stokes and Vincent van Gogh are exhibited alongside medieval masters such as Lucas Cranach the Elder, Albrecht Dürer, Hans Holbein the Younger, Lucas van Leyden and Michael Wolgemut.