Screams of Joy!

August 31, 2006 9:27 AM

"The Scream" has been recovered. (First discussed here)
posted by XQUZYPHYR (29 comments total)

So... who gets the M&M's?
posted by 1f2frfbf at 9:31 AM on August 31, 2006

Shouldn't it be called 'A Scream'?
posted by mazola at 9:32 AM on August 31, 2006

At moments like these, I wish we still condoned public hangings. Those thieves deserve nothing less than a horribly painful, public death.
posted by SeizeTheDay at 9:40 AM on August 31, 2006

At moments like these, I wish we still condoned public hangings. Those thieves deserve nothing less than a horribly painful, public death.

I'm sorry, what?
posted by delmoi at 9:44 AM on August 31, 2006

During the hunt for the paintings, Norwegian news media reported that they might have been burned to get rid of evidence.

it would have been so awful if that had come true.
posted by matt_od at 9:44 AM on August 31, 2006

Those thieves deserve nothing less than a horribly painful, public death.

Preferably performed live during Super Bowl halftime.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 9:50 AM on August 31, 2006

To celebrate, I'm going to scream for ice cream.
posted by jefbla at 9:51 AM on August 31, 2006

The Joker stole it!
posted by tkchrist at 9:52 AM on August 31, 2006

Hooray! Now all three versions of the painting are safe again (aren't they?)

Stuff like this just can't be re-made once it's lost. Sure, we could have some talented person copy it from photos, memory, etc., but recovering the original is essential - there's more to art than the physical art itself, but that physical thing connects us with the artist in ways that a replica could not.

When I heard the painting may have been burned, I was pretty upset. This is good news indeed.
posted by caution live frogs at 9:54 AM on August 31, 2006

Of course, at the bottom of the news story was a link to:

Prized drawings stolen from Russian archives

Drawings by a famous architect worth millions of dollars have been stolen from a state archive, officials said Tuesday, raising fresh concerns about the security of Russia’s museum collections after a major theft at the famed State Hermitage.

Drawings by the late architect Yakov Chernikhov, widely admired for his avant-garde and constructivist designs, disappeared from the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art, according to Russia’s cultural heritage body, Rosokhrankultura....

And so it goes. But I'm glad the Munch got recovered.
posted by languagehat at 10:03 AM on August 31, 2006

The Madonna was recovered as well. This one. Not this one.
posted by adamvasco at 10:08 AM on August 31, 2006

I was really hoping for a heading of "Scream and Scream Again."
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 10:14 AM on August 31, 2006

:O
posted by Zozo at 10:15 AM on August 31, 2006

Excellent news. At a recent showing of some Munch works at MOMA (in Manhattan), they had two drawings of "The Scream." The poor guard had to keep explaining over and over again that, no m'am, we don't know where the actual painting is. It was stolen several years ago.

Thanks for the FPP.
posted by bim at 10:17 AM on August 31, 2006

Hooray for them being in better-than-expected condition.
please invest in a camera for the (wonderful) museum.
posted by Busithoth at 10:24 AM on August 31, 2006

"At moments like these, I wish we still condoned public hangings. Those thieves deserve nothing less than a horribly painful, public death."

*slowly inches away from SeizeTheDay*

You're creepin' me out dude... And you got a little Artz on ya.
posted by ZachsMind at 10:46 AM on August 31, 2006

The screams led the police to an abandoned house...
posted by popcassady at 11:11 AM on August 31, 2006

Although I wouldn't go as far as SeizeTheDay, I'll agree that stealing art is a Bad Thing™ and the thieves should be severely punished.
posted by deborah at 11:24 AM on August 31, 2006

I'll agree that art is a thing.
posted by ZachsMind at 11:25 AM on August 31, 2006

So... who gets the M&M's?

I thought the same thing. Whoever had information about this must be a real chocoholic because it took a mere two days for it to be returned after Mars made that announcement. Maybe we should start offering candy as bounty for finding the Zodiac Killer, or better yet, discovering who thought little-endian-ness was a good idea.
posted by Plutor at 11:51 AM on August 31, 2006

This is curious. The dateline on the M&M story is 8/29 and the paintings are found 2 days later?

I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'.
posted by papoon at 11:52 AM on August 31, 2006

This is curious.

Mars Attacks!
posted by kosem at 12:17 PM on August 31, 2006

great news.
posted by scody at 12:18 PM on August 31, 2006

M&M/Mars had the painting all along. It's viral marketing writ large.

Kinda of like someone foiling a supervillian with Hostess Fruit Pies in real life.
posted by sourwookie at 12:29 PM on August 31, 2006

posted by HyperBlue at 1:42 PM on August 31, 2006

posted by damn dirty ape at 2:30 PM on August 31, 2006

adamvasco - Thanks for the link to the Munch gallery. Others - if you're not familiar with his work, check it out. Paintings range from more realistic to more stylized. I was surprised and enjoyed seeing many of them.
posted by jam_pony at 4:06 PM on August 31, 2006

I don't buy it.

Just took them this long to come up with a believable copy.

Billions of tourist dollars were at stake.
posted by HTuttle at 12:15 AM on September 1, 2006

This was a post I made in the wake of the thefts October 27th, 2005. At that time, the press were strongly implying that the mastermind behind what was then and still is Norway's largest "heist" in the proper sense of the word had ordered the thefts to detract attention away from himself.

Fast forward to today, where police recovered the paintings going on a tip from the mastermind in question, after long negotiations about what exactly he would get...

I have no qualms about giving him what he wants when he's got that kind of ace up his sleeve. I'd even appreciate the Norwegian government prostrating before him wearing chicken suits if it got Norway's largest contributions to world art back.

The paintings themselves are damaged, however. The frame is gone and The Madonna has a hole in the canvas about an iinch in diametre, and both paintings require reconstructive work.

But all is good.
posted by flippant at 12:52 AM on September 1, 2006