Preface

It has taken us a long time to devise the page layout of Reading Death: it would have been too sentimental to use a photograph to depict life–and–death separation. Using grim pictures would not
have been a good idea either since they may be too foreboding for some. Many artists have, throughout history, alluded to the subject of death. Norwegian painter Edvard Munch composed many classic
oil paintings to portray the grief of mourning since his beloved sister died of tuberculosis. Famous for their golden lavishness, Gustav Klimt’s works feature characters that could not escape from their fatal
destiny. We are indebted to Norwegian and Austrian museums which have authorized Books & the City to publish the works of these two esteemed painters so that we can appreciate the art of death while
reading about death.