VOA慢速英语--挪威博物馆揭开了一幅现代名画的神秘面纱

Norway's National Museum says a sentence written on Edvard Munch¹'s 1893 painting "The Scream" was put there by the Norwegian painter himself.

The famous painting shows a figure holding its head in its hands with its mouth wide open. The art work has become an internationally recognized symbol for the expression of human fear and concern.

The sentence written on the painting says, "can only have been painted by a madman." It was written with a pencil in the top left-hand area of the painting.

The painting is being prepared to be shown at the new National Museum of Norway, which will open in Oslo, the Norwegian capital, in 2022. The painting has been the subject of a lot of careful research.

In a recent statement, Mai Britt Guleng, head of the National Museum, said, "The writing is without a doubt Munch's own." Guleng added the writing was compared to the painter's writing in letters. "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," Guleng explained.

The writing was added after Munch had completed the painting. But for years it has been a mystery, the museum said in a statement.

Guleng said the writing was likely done "in 1895, when Munch exhibited the painting for the first time." Exhibit means to make something, such as a painting or photograph, available for people to see.

At the time of its first showing, the painting caused many people to wonder about Munch's mental state. During a discussion night when the artist was present, a young medical student questioned Munch's mental health and claimed his work proved he was not sound.

"It is likely that Munch added the inscription² in 1895, or shortly after, in response to the judgment³ on his work," the statement read.

Munch was hurt by the accusations⁴. He wrote about them many times in his letters. Both Munch's father and sister suffered from mental issues.

Munch was put into a hospital after a nervous breakdown⁵ in 1908. A nervous breakdown is an inability to live normally in daily life because of extremely strong feelings of worry or tension.

The National Gallery was temporarily closed in 2019 to secure a safe moving process to the new National Museum. The museum will show 400,000 objects, from ancient times to the present day. It will have paintings, statues, drawings and many other art objects.

Words in This Story

figure – n. a person or animal that can be seen only as a shape or outline

madman – n. a man who has severe mental illness : an insane⁶ man

inscription – n. words that are written on or cut into a surface

response – n. something that is said or written as an answer to someone's comments, opinions or statements

1 munch   

v.用力嚼，大声咀嚼

参考例句：

• We watched her munch through two packets of peanuts.我们看她津津有味地嚼了两包花生米。
• Getting them to munch on vegetable dishes was more difficult.使他们吃素菜就比较困难了。

2 inscription   

n.（尤指石块上的）刻印文字，铭文，碑文

参考例句：

• The inscription has worn away and can no longer be read.铭文已磨损，无法辨认了。
• He chiselled an inscription on the marble.他在大理石上刻碑文。

3 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

4 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

5 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。

6 insane   

adj.蠢极的，荒唐的，精神错乱的，疯狂的

参考例句：

• Insane people are sometimes dangerous.精神病人有时非常危险。
• The letter made her insane with jealousy.那封信使她妒忌得发疯。