Recovered Munch canvases on display before scheduled restoration

Edvard Munch's The Scream and Madonna are briefly back on display to the public in Oslo Wednesday, in advance of scheduled restoration work on the recently recovered paintings.

Norwegian police recovered the two famed paintings in August, about two years after they had been snatched from Oslo's Munch Museum in a brazen daylight robbery.

The two late-19th century expressionist works suffered minor damage from the theft: Madonna suffered a scratch and a small tear that has left a hole in the canvas, while The Screamappears slightly crumpled from moisture damage in its bottom left corner.

Officials said they wanted to show the works to the public because of the intense local and international interest in the case. Restoration of the two works could take up to one year.

Displayed flat, not ready to be hung

The paintings, which were unveiled to reporters Tuesday, are being displayed laying flat under glass and without their frames because experts have said the fragile works are not in a condition to be hung on a wall.

The Munch Museum will keep the two works on display to the public through Sunday.

In the past two years, police arrested six men in connection with the robbery. However, only three were convicted during the trial in May.

They received jail terms ranging from four to eight years for their roles in the theft. Two were also sentenced to pay $135 million in damages, but restitution may be limited to the cost of restoration.

Museum revises security

The shockingly bold robbery has resulted in major security revisions at the Oslo museum. Valuable works are now displayed behind glass and visitors entering the display area must pass through a metal detector.

A pioneer of the early 20th-century Expressionist movement, Munch created several versions of his key works, including The Scream, known for its anguished subject screaming under a lurid sunset sky.

He painted four versions of The Scream, all part of a series called "The Frieze of Life." The original is in Oslo's National Gallery, while the stolen work the main reproduction and another version were given to the Munch Museum after the artist's death. A private collector owns the fourth.