Edvard Munch - artist, original... blogger?

I went to see the Munch - Modern Eye exhibition at the Tate a few months ago.  Edvard Munch was not only a Modernist painter, but also an amateur photographer and examiner of his own life. If he'd had the option of a blog, it is probably fair to say that we would have taken it.

 What does this remind you of?
 

 Maybe an old MySpace profile picture (if you are my age!). That is because Munch was perhaps the first person to take a photo of himself by holding his camera at arms length - in 1930. Of all the Munch photos at the Munch Museet in Oslo, one in three is a self portrait.

"'Know Thyself' goes the Greek adage written on the pediment of the temple at Delphi. For Munch, photography is the instrument of this introspection. It allows him to better understand his appearance."
Clement Cheroux

Munch also bought himself a film camera and used to travel to different Norwegian towns on his fjord to go to the cinema, His dog, Boy, also used to come to the cinema - if he barked, Munch would leave as he obviously wasn't having a good time.

Here are some other paintings and photos from the show.