Elena Rossi
Edvard Munch's painting, The Scream, is one of the most famous images in modern art. The agonised face in the painting has become an icon of modern anxiety and a representation of the human condition. The painting was inspired by a panic attack that Munch suffered in 1892, which he described as an infinite scream passing through nature. The Scream has been reproduced widely in popular culture, from television to emoji, and has been the target of several high-profile art thefts.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Artist | Edvard Munch |
| Year of Creation | 1893, 1895, 1910 |
| Number of Versions | 5 |
| Medium | Paint, Pastel, Lithograph |
| Inspiration | Panic attack suffered by Munch in 1892 |
| Subject Matter | A scream piercing through nature, anxiety, anguish, existential crisis |
| Style | Expressionistic, Art Nouveau |
| Current Location | National Museum of Norway in Oslo, Munch Museum in Oslo, Private Collection |
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What You'll Learn
The painting's inspiration and meaning
Edvard Munch's painting "The Scream" is one of the most famous images in modern art. The painting is a product of a panic attack that Munch suffered in 1892, which he recounted in a sketch from that year called "Despair". In his diary, Munch described the psychologically fraught episode:
> "I was walking along the road with two friends – the sun went down – I felt a gust of melancholy – suddenly the sky turned a bloody red. I stopped, leaned against the railing, tired to death – as the flaming skies hung like blood and sword over the blue-black fjord and the city – my friends went on – I stood there trembling with anxiety – and I felt a vast infinite scream through nature."
Munch's work, including "The Scream", had a formative influence on the Expressionist movement. In the painting, Munch represented the scream through a series of undulating lines that pressed in on the figure like shock waves, reducing its face to a primal image of fear. The painting's central figure has become a popular representation of the human condition and an icon of the anxiety of modern life.
Munch created four versions of "The Scream", two in paint and two in pastels, as well as a lithograph stone from which several prints survive. Both painted versions have been stolen from public museums, but since recovered. In his diary, Munch wrote that he wanted to express the most subtle states of mind through painting. He further explained that he painted a moment of existential crisis, choosing to use an unrealistic style to paint his emotions rather than focus on realism and perfectionism in his art.
The painting's inspiration has also been linked to Munch's troubled life. He was confronted with death at a very early age, with his mother dying of tuberculosis when he was only 5 years old, and he lost one of his sisters to the same disease when he was 13. Shortly afterward, another of his sisters suffered from severe depression and was committed for life, while his brother died suddenly of pneumonia only a few months after his marriage. Traumatized by these successive tragedies, Munch was often affected by depression, which is regularly visible in his work. His artworks often deal with themes of anguish, melancholy, fear, death, and pain.
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The artist's personal life
Edvard Munch was born in 1863 in a farmhouse in the village of Ådalsbruk in Løten, Norway. He was born into a middle-class family that was plagued with illness and tragedy. Munch's mother died of tuberculosis when he was five, and his sister, Johanne Sophie, died of the same disease when he was 14. His father and another brother also died prematurely, and one of his sisters suffered from mental illness and was institutionalized for most of her life. Munch himself was often sick and had to stay in bed for entire winters, missing school and being homeschooled instead.
Munch's childhood experiences had a profound and lasting impact on him, and he once wrote: "Illness, insanity, and death were the black angels that kept watch over my cradle and accompanied me all my life." This preoccupation with mortality and human vulnerability is evident in his artwork, which often explores themes of anxiety, emotional suffering, and loss.
In his youth, Munch showed a talent for drawing and received encouragement from a circle of writers and artists in Kristiania (now Oslo). He studied at the Royal School of Art and Design in Kristiania, where he fell under the influence of the nihilist Hans Jæger, who encouraged him to paint his emotional and psychological state, leading to the development of his distinctive style. Munch's early works, such as "The Sick Child" (1885-1886), are deeply personal, reflecting the tragic events of his childhood and setting the tone for his early career.
Munch led a bohemian life, travelling to Paris and Berlin, where he was influenced by artists such as Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. He also met Swedish dramatist August Strindberg in Berlin. Munch's work during this period continued to explore universal themes of love, anxiety, and death, culminating in his Frieze of Life series. Despite creating numerous landscapes, Munch is rarely considered a landscape artist. Instead, his focus on nature serves as a means to convey emotion.
In his later years, Munch returned to Norway and began work on a series of murals for the assembly hall at Oslo University, reflecting a brighter and more optimistic tone in his artwork. Munch never married and spent his last 27 years living alone on his estate outside Oslo, surrounded by his artwork. He died in 1944, leaving behind a vast collection of paintings, drawings, and prints, which were donated to the Norwegian government and now reside in the Munch Museum of Art in Oslo.
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The painting's style and composition
The Scream, created by Norwegian Expressionist artist Edvard Munch in 1893, is considered a radical and timeless expression of human fear. The painting has become one of the most iconic images in modern art, with its agonised face seen as symbolising the anxiety of the human condition.
Munch created four versions of The Scream: two paintings and two pastels, as well as a lithograph stone from which several prints survive. The first version was painted in 1893 and is on display at the National Museum of Norway in Oslo. This version includes a barely visible pencil inscription, "Kan kun være malet af en gal Mand!" ("could only have been painted by a madman"). The second painted version, from 1910, is in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Oslo. The pastel versions are from 1893 and 1895, with the latter selling for a record-breaking $120 million at Sotheby's in 2012.
The composition of The Scream is characterised by a swirl of colours and contrasting lines. The central figure in the foreground, with its sickly off-yellow shades, stands in contrast to the two figures walking away in the background. The strong curvilinear lines of the figure in the foreground create a sense of distortion and primal fear, while the straight lines of the bridge and the background figures emphasise a sense of stability and normalcy. The colours in the painting are subdued, with the sky dominating the composition with its reds and oranges, while the landscape below is depicted in earthy tones of blue, green, and brown.
Munch's use of colour and line serves to emphasise his internal state rather than the external world. The undulating lines that surround the central figure seem to press in on it, reflecting the emotional turmoil and anxiety that Munch experienced during the panic attack that inspired the painting. The composition also reflects Munch's belief in the union of the senses, where colours and shapes could evoke sounds and emotions. This belief aligns with the Symbolist movement's focus on visual poetry and the expression of internal emotions through external forms.
The Scream's style and composition have had a significant influence on the art world, particularly the Expressionist movement. The painting's iconic status has also extended beyond the realm of fine art, becoming a touchstone of popular culture and inspiring numerous parodies, caricatures, and references in film and television.
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The painting's cultural impact
Edvard Munch's The Scream is widely regarded as an icon of modern art, a masterpiece for the troubled times, and a symbol of the anxiety of the human condition. Its cultural impact has been profound and far-reaching, with the painting transcending art history to become a touchstone of popular culture.
The painting's enduring popularity can be attributed to its ability to evoke strong emotional responses and its resonance with viewers on a universal level. The Scream speaks to the fragile nature of human existence and the existential questions that plague us all. It has become a cultural symbol, representing the universal feeling of anguish and despair in the face of an uncertain and chaotic world. The painting's central figure has appeared throughout Western popular culture, from television to emojis, and has been referenced in films, literature, and art.
The Scream has been the target of several high-profile art thefts, which have only added to its notoriety and fame. In 1994, the original 1893 version was stolen from the National Gallery in Oslo, and in 2004, masked gunmen seized the 1910 version from the Munch Museum in the same city. These incidents brought The Scream into the public eye and sparked a gangland fashion for the image.
The painting's influence can also be seen in the work of other artists. In 1983-1984, pop artist Andy Warhol made a series of silk screen prints copying The Scream, intending to desacralize the painting by making it mass-reproducible. The British artist Peter Doig's 1998 painting Echo Lake features a spectral policeman clutching his head in the manner of Munch's screamer. The Serbian performance artist Marina Abramovic persuaded inhabitants of Oslo to scream in public as a tribute to Munch, and the charismatic artist Robert Fishbone created a must-have inflatable version of The Scream for art students and existentialists.
The Scream has also had a significant impact on film and literature. It inspired the iconic Ghostface mask in Wes Craven's Scream slasher franchise, and it was referenced in Philip K. Dick's 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. The painting's ability to capture complex emotions and its powerful symbolism have ensured its lasting influence and cultural significance.
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The various versions of the painting
Edvard Munch's The Scream is known to have been executed in several different versions. The first version of the painting was untitled, while the second bore the German title Geschrei, meaning "Scream". Munch completed two versions in 1893, another in 1895, and yet another likely in 1910. The 1893 version is notable for the small pencil text in the upper left corner, reading, "Could only have been painted by a madman", which was indeed written by Munch himself. This version is held by the National Museum of Norway.
The 1895 pastel-on-board version of the painting was sold at Sotheby's for a record US$120 million at auction on 2 May 2012. This version is now in a private collection. Another version of the painting, created in 1895 and signed in 1896, is a lithograph held by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).
The 1910 tempera on board version is held by the Munch Museum in Oslo. This version depicts a screaming figure on a bridge, who may be symbolic of Munch himself, feeling the cry of nature, a sound sensed internally rather than heard with the ears. The Munch Museum also holds a pastel version of the painting, created in 1893.
The Scream has been the target of several high-profile theft attempts, with one version stolen from Oslo's National Gallery in 1994 and another from the Munch Museum in 2004. Both paintings were eventually recovered.
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Frequently asked questions
The Scream by Edvard Munch is an expressionistic construction based on the artist's experience of a scream piercing through nature while on a walk. The painting is considered a representation of the anxiety of modern life.
Edvard Munch's inspiration for The Scream came from a panic attack he suffered in 1892. He recounted the episode in a sketch from that year called Despair. He described how the episode occurred while he was strolling along a path outside Oslo, and how he "sensed a scream passing through nature".
The Scream has been the target of several high-profile art thefts. In 1994, the version in the National Gallery was stolen and recovered several months later. The pastel-on-board version from 1895 was sold at Sotheby's for a record US$120 million in 2012.
The Scream is considered a turning point between the symbolist and expressionist movements. Munch chose to use an unrealistic style to paint his emotions, rather than focus on realism and perfectionism in his art.
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