THE SCREAM – AN EXPRESSION OF RAW HORROR AND ANGUISH!

‘The Scream’ painted by Norwegian Expressionist artist Edvard Munch is arguably one of the most famous paintings in the world, undoubtedly more famous than the artist himself. An image of a lone figure standing on a bridge, the only thing that can truly be identified is the unmistakable fear on the figures face, with both hands clasped against the cheek in horror. You can almost hear the bloodcurdling shriek of this terrorized soul who is screaming.   

Despite radical simplification, the landscape in the picture is recognizable as the Kristiania Fjord seen from Ekeberg, with a broad view over the fjord, the town and the hills beyond. In the background to the left, at the end of the path with the balustrade that cuts diagonally across the picture, we see two strolling figures, often regarded as two friends whom Munch mentions in notes relating to the picture. But the figure in the foreground is the first to capture the viewer’s attention. Its hands are held to its head and its mouth is wide open in a silent scream, which is amplified by the undulating movement running through the surrounding landscape. The figure is ambiguous and it is hard to say whether it is a man or a woman, young or old – or even if it is human at all.

Painted in the late 19th Century, this picture was the brainchild of a unique era of art, which had transitioned from still-life paintings into expressions of the soul. Artistic talent became a creative outlet for the artist's innermost thoughts, doubts, desires, joys and most relevant, fears.

The story behind the art

The original German title given by Munch to his work was Der Schrei der Natur (The Scream of Nature), and the Norwegian title is Skrik (Shriek). Munch shared the rationale for this title in a poem he painted on the frame of the 1895 pastel, "I was walking down the road with two friends when the sun set; suddenly, the sky turned as red as blood. I stopped and leaned against the fence, feeling unspeakably tired. Tongues of fire and blood stretched over the bluish black fjord. My friends went on walking, while I lagged behind, shivering with fear. Then I heard the enormous infinite scream of nature. EM.”

This poem gives some clarity to the painting. To begin with, the painter speaks of his exhaustion, which is understandable given he struggled with severe anxiety for most of his life, starting at the tender age of 5 when his mother died from tuberculosis. However, he also says he “heard” the scream of nature, so it can be reasonably presumed that he wasn’t the one doing the screaming. So where did the sound come from? 

If you read the poem a second time, perhaps you’ll notice his multiple uses of the word “blood”, to describe the color of the sky and the fading seascape, as he stands on the bridge. According to his diary, there was a slaughterhouse not far from where the picture is believed to have been illustrated. In another cruel twist of fate, the mental asylum where his own sister was a resident was also nearby. Perhaps the artist was haunted by the terrible screams of animals being dragged to their fates. Or worse perhaps, the anguished screams of the inmates of the mental asylum, his sister’s voice drowned amidst all the chaos.

The Scream isn't one piece, but four.

Munch created four versions in paint and pastels. The first painted version was the first exhibited in 1893. It is in the collection of the National Gallery of Norway in Oslo. A pastel version from that year, which may have been a preliminary study, is in the collection of the Munch Museum, also in Oslo. The second pastel version, from 1895, was sold for $119,922,600 at Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern Art auction on 2 May 2012 to financier Leon Black. The second painted version dates from 1910, during a period when Munch revisited some of his prior compositions. It is also in the collection of the Munch Museum.

Critical interpretation

Art critics have claimed for some time now that the ghastly face in this expressionist icon was inspired by Peruvian mummies the artist had a chance to see at the Exposition Universelle in a Parisian museum in 1889. The mummified figure of a Chachapoyas warrior was discovered near the Utcubamba River in Peru's Amazonas Region. With hands cemented in place on either side of a mouth open in an apparent shriek, the mummy bears a striking resemblance to Munch's screamer.

Yet another critic Grovier believes that it was the Munch’s technophobia that inspired the pasty and sallow face of the figure. If you look closer, it isn’t difficult to discern the shape of the light bulb in the shouting face. For some people, it is a painting of sorrow, for some - existential dread. Others see it as liberating or powerful. The fact is, this painting evokes strong emotion, whether positive or negative. 

Twice stolen

The first time it was stolen in 1994.  Bandits placed a ladder up to the window of the National Gallery in Oslo, slunk inside, and made off with The Scream. As if that was not enough they added insult to robbery by leaving a note that read, "Thanks for the poor security." Thankfully, the painting was recovered within three months.  Then in a daring daylight heist, two masked men rushed into Oslo's Munch Museum and made off with The Scream and Madonna. By May of 2006, three men had been convicted for the theft. But despite the city of Oslo offering a 2 million krone (about $313,000 U.S.) reward, the paintings remained missing till August 31, 2006 when they were recovered in good condition in Oslo.

Munch also mass-produced the image.

Once his Scream caught on in the European art scene, Munch made a lithograph of the concept so that he could sell black-and-white prints at will. These prints got a second life of sorts in 1984, courtesy of Andy Warhol. In the wake of its Munch exhibition, the New York–based Galleri Bellman commissioned the pop art pioneer to recreate Munch's lithographs as a screen print. Warhol did the same for Munch's Madonna, The Brooch, and Self-Portrait with Skeleton's Arm.

Great pain and suffering have a way of forcing artists to reach deep within them to pull out creations that make us think, feel, laugh and even weep. This is what differentiates expressionists like Edvard Munch from his peers. He was the creator of more than 1000 paintings, most of which were donated to the Norwegian Government following his demise.