“I was walking along the road with two friends.
The Sun was setting – the Sky turned blood-red.
And I felt a wave of Sadness – I paused tired to Death – Above the blue-black Fjord
and City Blood and Flaming tongues hovered.
My friends walked on – I stayed behind – quaking with Angst – I felt the great Scream in
Nature”.
This is how, in 1891, Edvard Munch explained the origin of his most famous creation, The
Scream.
At the center of the painting is a figure holding his hands over his ears.
In the background, two figures are walking, although the direction they are moving in
is ambiguous.
This scene takes place with the sun setting over a river.
The central person stands on a bridge near the water, wearing a blue coat that surreally
blends into the surface of the water.
His arms are extended and his mouth is open.
His head is elongated and white, resembling a skull, and the lines are curved and create
the impression of movement, as if drawing us into the heart of the picture and conveying
a sense of fear.
The sky also curves over the figure whose gender is not specified as they scream.
Below their feet is a fjord in which two ships can be seen.
There is conflicting contrast between the curved and straight lines, as well as the
indifference of the walkers and the person in the center of the picture, which only reinforces
the impression of anxiety.
The version held by the National Museum of Norway has a small pencil inscription in the
upper left corner, which says "Kan kun være malet af en gal Mand!"
(translated to "could only have been painted by a madman").
It was first noticed when the painting was exhibited in Copenhagen in 1904 and can only
be seen on close examination.
For years, it had been presumed that this was a comment written by a critic or a visitor.
Through the use of infrared photography, a study of the handwriting showed that the comment
was actually added by Munch himself.
It has been suggested that Munch inscribed the inscription after the critical comments
made when the painting was first exhibited in Norway in October 1895.
By creating The Scream, Edward Munch penetrated the common, human feelings of fear and loneliness
for the first time.
In the foreground, the central figure utters a desperate cry.
Their body literally twists in a spasm, while the yellowness of their face and inflamed
eyes, bulging in vague fear of an unknown threat, is eerily reminiscent of the face
of a corpse.
The color of the painting faithfully conveys the mental state of the character: the blue
is absorbed by their cry that tears the soul apart as its echo spreads throughout the entire
bay, reaching the bloody line of the sky.
The stark wavy lines of the painting give the composition dynamism while filling the
painting with a premonition of terrible misfortune.
The cry is often taken as the artist's first expressionist experiment.
Although it originates from the artist's personal "inner hell", the painting represents the
embodiment of universal fears as well.
In the late twentieth century, The Scream acquired iconic status in popular culture.
This is mainly because of pop artist Andy Warhol.
In 1984, Warhol created a series of silk screen prints copying works by Munch, including The
Scream.
He explicitly intended to desecrate and satirize the painting by turning it into a mass-produced
item.
However, thanks to Warhol’s adaptation, the work only gained more popularity and found
its way into major motion pictures as well.
For example, the Ghostface mask used in the Scream horror films was inspired by the painting.
Also, Silence, the alien antagonist featured in the 2011 BBC Doctor Who series, is partially
based on The Scream as well.
Today, the motifs of The Scream remain momentous, relatable, and common.
For example, British cartoonist Peter Brook used Munch's painting to convey the emotions
that many people were experiencing after Donald Trump was elected President.
Again and again, the painting still finds prominence and connection with audiences across
the globe more than 100 years since its creation.
What do you think of Munch’s masterpiece?
Is it still as haunting and unsettling as it once was?
Does any piece of art better capture the emotions of terror and human despair?