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Damaged Munch artwork set for display

A brief exhibition of the theft-damaged Edvard Munch masterpieces "The Scream" and "Madonna" will open in Oslo on Wednesday before the painstaking restoration begins, the Munch Museum said.
/ Source: The Associated Press

A brief exhibition of the theft-damaged Edvard Munch masterpieces "The Scream" and "Madonna" will open in Oslo on Wednesday before the painstaking restoration begins, the Munch Museum said.

The paintings, which are considered priceless, were recovered by police on Aug. 31, just over two years after they were snatched from the Oslo city-owned Munch Museum by masked gunmen.

Both paintings were damaged during the two years they were missing, and require time consuming restoration.

The Munch Museum said in statement that because of art lovers' strong interest in seeing the damaged paintings, they will be displayed from Wednesday through Sunday.

Munch painted four versions of "The Scream", which has become an icon of modern human anxiety. The stolen version was damaged in one corner.

"Madonna" suffered two holes in its canvas of about 1 inch. The museum said both can be repaired, but that the process will be time-consuming.

"The Scream" and "Madonna" were part of Munch's "Frieze of Life" series, in which sickness, death, anxiety and love are central themes. Munch, who was a major influence in the modern expressionist movement, died in 1944 at the age of 80.