Author: Edvard Munch (1893)
Technique: oil, tempera, and pastel on cardboard.
Dimensions: 36 in × 28.9 in
Style: Expressionism
Location: National Gallery, Oslo, Norway.

"The Scream" is the title of this famous painting by the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, its original title in Norwegian is "Skrik".

There are four versions of the painting that were made between 1893 and 1910, the most famous is the one the author finished in 1893, this can be found in the National Gallery of Oslo, another two in the Munch Museum and the last one is part of a private collection.

Besides being the most famous work of this artist, is considered the forerunner of the expressionist movement. The image is a cultural icon, due to its influence and recognition it's considered a kind of modern Mona Lisa, which many artists use it to inspire themselves when generating a new art or to make parodies in audiovisual media.

Its origin goes back to an afternoon of 1892, Edvard Munch explains in his diary that he was inspired to paint this masterpiece when he walked with two friends through a viewpoint of the Ekeberg hill, from where the landscape of Oslo could be appreciated.

"I was walking along the road with two friends – the sun was setting – suddenly the sky turned blood red – I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence – there were blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city – my friends walked on, and I stood there trembling with anxiety – and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature".

Analysis

In the painting we see a figure without defined sex in the foreground that takes the hands to the head expressing a deep anguish and despair in an exaggerated way, it seems to be screaming.

It is located on a kind of road with fences that move diagonally. In the background, there are two figures with a hat that seems to be unrelated to what happens with the main figure. Do they hear the scream?.

Warm colors stand out, the sky swirls but its curves are fluid and orange tones predominate. On the other hand, the path seems illuminated by a semi-dark light.

The shapes have been turned back and the colors are distributed unevenly. It seems that the colors instead of focusing on showing us with detail the environment seeks to accompany the anxiety of the protagonist.

There are also those who consider that the scream of the image is the scream of nature, which is personified in the main figure. Others, meanwhile, think that, regardless of the rest, the greatest achievement of this work is that it managed to portray a sound. One of the oldest debates about this image is if the figure screams or hears a scream.

In this painting, the existential anguish of modern man is finally reflected, his feeling of loneliness, his despair. In the same way, the painting is also associated with the condition of the artist as a deeply tormented man.

We can all feel identified with his message: a modern man in a moment of deep anguish and existential despair. It is a universal message, which transcends the sexes, races, and nationalities. For that reason, "The Scream" is considered one of the most important paintings in the history of art.

Curiosities

In recent years, two of the versions of this work have been stolen. In February 1994, it was the most famous version, it was recovered 2 months later Then, in August 2004, one of the versions that were exhibited in the Munch Museum was stolen, it was recovered 2 years later.

One of the versions of "The Scream" was auctioned in May 2012 in New York City. The winner of the auction paid 119.9 million dollars, which meant the highest figure ever paid for an artistic work at that time.