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Munch's The Scream recovered
31/08/2006 17:59 - (SA)
Oslo - Edvard Munch's masterpieces The Scream and Madonna, stolen in a dramatic 2004 heist from an Oslo museum, have been recovered, Norwegian police said on Thursday.
"For two years and nine days we have been hunting sytematically for these pictures and now we've found them," the head of the police investigation, Iver Stensrud, told reporters.
"It is a happy day for us in the police, for the owners of the paintings, and not least for the public, which will soon be able to once again admire the paintings," Stensrud said.
Police did not reveal where the artworks were found, but said they were recovered on Thursday afternoon in "pretty good condition". Police did not show the paintings to the press. Damage
"The damage to the paintings was much less than what one could have expected," Stensrud said.
On August 22 2004, two armed and hooded men stormed into Oslo's Munch Museum and threatened a member of staff with a gun as stunned tourists looked on.
They then made off with Munch's expressionist work The Scream and Madonna in a stolen getaway car driven by an accomplice.
Munch (1863-1944) made several versions of both of the artworks, and The Scream is regarded by many as his most important work.
The seminal painting with its iconic open-mouthed scream is said by critics to symbolise modern man suffering an attack of existential angst.
Five men were convicted earlier this year to prison for their involvement in the heist, but the actual thieves remained at large.
- AFP
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South Africa
