Saturday, July 24

Passing History from generation to generation

Yesterday I received a mail with some photos from Asbjørn. One of the photos made me immediately think of Edvard Munch´s "Historien" (History) from 1911. The huge painting (455x1160) that can be seen in the University Hall in Oslo.
Munch himself said that it "depicts a remote and apparently historical landscape, in which an old man from the fjords, who has prospered through many long years of toil, now sits absorbed in a wealth of memories and relates them to a fascinated boy.
History depicts more than just history. It represents knowledge and wisdom in their entirety."

Munch exalts the people and landscape above the everyday humdrum by giving them simplified, classical features. The old man can be said to symbolise the past, through which experience and knowledge are communicated to younger generations.

If you wonder why this reflection came into my mind, take a look at the image below.
Asbjørn with his granddaughter Emma in private communication.

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