The Scream
Edvard Munch's famous "The Scream" depicts a strange, distorted person screaming in the foreground, while in the background two mysterious men with black coats and hats look on. The painting was referred to in DADOES in connection with the retirement of the android Luba Luft. Luba's dying scream is connected by Deckard with the painting. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mystery remains over return of Munch's 'The Scream' by Bjoern Lindahl Fri Sep 1, 8:02 AM ET Edvard Munch's expressionist masterpiece "The Scream", stolen two years ago in a spectacular heist in Oslo, was back safe and sound at the Munch Museum but how it was found remains a mystery as police kept mum. The seminal painting with its iconic open-mouthed scream, said by critics to symbolize modern man suffering an attack of existential angst, was recovered by Norwegian police on Thursday, together with Munch's "Madonna". "We won't give any information about the circumstances of how we got them. We're keeping our cards pretty close at the moment," police spokesman Morten Hojem Ervik told AFP. Police have insisted that no ransom was paid but have also said that no one was arrested in connection with the paintings' return on Thursday. Ervik would only confirm that the two artworks were found in Norway. The authorities' refusal to disclose any details has left art lovers wondering: Who had the paintings? Where were they kept? How were they returned? Did the police get a hot new tip? Was money paid for their return? Media reports in Norway have long suggested that the August 2004 Munch robbery was ordered by underworld criminals in a bid to distract police from an investigation into a bank robbery in the town of Stavanger earlier that year in which a policeman was killed. On Friday, newspapers speculated that one of the masterminds of the bank robbery, David Toska whose appeal trial is to open on Monday, had disclosed the location of the paintings in a bid to obtain better prison conditions for his 19-year-sentence. Press reports said Toska had asked a now-deceased friend to organise the Munch robbery to ensure that police resources were spread thin on the bank robbery case. In 2005, money from the bank robbery was found in the home of one of the suspects in the Munch theft. Daily VG recalled that police had noticed similarities between the two cases early on. "The same type of special gloves was namely used in both robberies -- gloves that prevent (robbers) from being cut up and leaving traces of blood," the paper said. It recalled a statement by the chief investigator in the Munch case just four days after the artworks were stolen: "We realize that there are similarities between the gloves from the Nokas (bank) robbery and the Munch robbery, even though we can not say anything with certainty," Iver Stensrud told VG. Meanwhile the paintings, estimated to be worth a total of 100 million dollars (83 million euros), were back in safekeeping at the Munch Museum on Friday. They are in surprisingly good condition, police said. "There are some small damages on the Madonna painting, small holes and some damages like scrapes, but the people at the (Munch) Museum said they had good hopes that they could restore the painting," Ervik said, adding that "The Scream" had "hardly any damage at all". According to daily Aftenposten, museum officials said "The Scream" was crumpled in one corner as if it had received a blow. The celebrated paintings were stolen in a dramatic heist in August 2004, when two hooded men stormed into the Munch Museum in Oslo and threatened a staff member with a gun as stunned tourists looked on. They ripped the paintings from the walls and fled in a stolen car. The two thieves remain at large. In May, however, three men were sentenced to prison for their involvement in the theft. The driver of the getaway car, Petter Tharaldsen, was sentenced to eight years in jail, while Bjoern Hoen, accused of being one of the masterminds of the theft, was given seven years. Petter Rosenvinge was sentenced to four years for complicity in the theft. Tharaldsen and Hoen were also fined 750 million Norwegian kroner (122 million dollars, 96 million euros).
Edvard Munch's famous "The Scream" depicts a strange, distorted person screaming in the foreground, while in the background two mysterious men with black coats and hats look on. The painting was referred to in DADOES in connection with the retirement of the android Luba Luft. Luba's dying scream is connected by Deckard with the painting. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mystery remains over return of Munch's 'The Scream' by Bjoern Lindahl Fri Sep 1, 8:02 AM ET Edvard Munch's expressionist masterpiece "The Scream", stolen two years ago in a spectacular heist in Oslo, was back safe and sound at the Munch Museum but how it was found remains a mystery as police kept mum. The seminal painting with its iconic open-mouthed scream, said by critics to symbolize modern man suffering an attack of existential angst, was recovered by Norwegian police on Thursday, together with Munch's "Madonna". "We won't give any information about the circumstances of how we got them. We're keeping our cards pretty close at the moment," police spokesman Morten Hojem Ervik told AFP. Police have insisted that no ransom was paid but have also said that no one was arrested in connection with the paintings' return on Thursday. Ervik would only confirm that the two artworks were found in Norway. The authorities' refusal to disclose any details has left art lovers wondering: Who had the paintings? Where were they kept? How were they returned? Did the police get a hot new tip? Was money paid for their return? Media reports in Norway have long suggested that the August 2004 Munch robbery was ordered by underworld criminals in a bid to distract police from an investigation into a bank robbery in the town of Stavanger earlier that year in which a policeman was killed. On Friday, newspapers speculated that one of the masterminds of the bank robbery, David Toska whose appeal trial is to open on Monday, had disclosed the location of the paintings in a bid to obtain better prison conditions for his 19-year-sentence. Press reports said Toska had asked a now-deceased friend to organise the Munch robbery to ensure that police resources were spread thin on the bank robbery case. In 2005, money from the bank robbery was found in the home of one of the suspects in the Munch theft. Daily VG recalled that police had noticed similarities between the two cases early on. "The same type of special gloves was namely used in both robberies -- gloves that prevent (robbers) from being cut up and leaving traces of blood," the paper said. It recalled a statement by the chief investigator in the Munch case just four days after the artworks were stolen: "We realize that there are similarities between the gloves from the Nokas (bank) robbery and the Munch robbery, even though we can not say anything with certainty," Iver Stensrud told VG. Meanwhile the paintings, estimated to be worth a total of 100 million dollars (83 million euros), were back in safekeeping at the Munch Museum on Friday. They are in surprisingly good condition, police said. "There are some small damages on the Madonna painting, small holes and some damages like scrapes, but the people at the (Munch) Museum said they had good hopes that they could restore the painting," Ervik said, adding that "The Scream" had "hardly any damage at all". According to daily Aftenposten, museum officials said "The Scream" was crumpled in one corner as if it had received a blow. The celebrated paintings were stolen in a dramatic heist in August 2004, when two hooded men stormed into the Munch Museum in Oslo and threatened a staff member with a gun as stunned tourists looked on. They ripped the paintings from the walls and fled in a stolen car. The two thieves remain at large. In May, however, three men were sentenced to prison for their involvement in the theft. The driver of the getaway car, Petter Tharaldsen, was sentenced to eight years in jail, while Bjoern Hoen, accused of being one of the masterminds of the theft, was given seven years. Petter Rosenvinge was sentenced to four years for complicity in the theft. Tharaldsen and Hoen were also fined 750 million Norwegian kroner (122 million dollars, 96 million euros).