‘The Scream’ is the popular name given to a composition created by Edvard Munch. The original title to this work was ‘Der Schrei der Natur’, which means ‘The Scream of Nature’ in German and the Norwegian title is Skrik (Shriek). The Norwegian is translated as the scream and so the painting is known as ‘The Scream’ or ‘The Cry’.
Edvard Munch is a recognized forerunner of expressionism, he is renowned for his representation of emotions. The painting was not intended to be a representation of an individual scream.
It symbolizes the anxiety of human condition along with the worry of nature. It is noted that the reddish sky in the background is the artist’s memory of the effects of the volcanic eruption of Krakatoa, which deeply tinted the sunset sky red during the 18th century. The imagery of The Scream has been compared to that which an individual suffering from depersonalization disorder experiences, a feeling of distortion of the environment and one’s self.
However, Munch describes his inspiration for the image in his diary as, “One evening I was walking along a path, the city was on one side and the fjord below. I felt tired and ill. I stopped and looked out over the fjord—the sun was setting, and the clouds turning blood red. I sensed a scream passing through nature; it seemed to me that I heard the scream. I painted this picture, painted the clouds as actual blood. The color shrieked. This became The Scream.“
The Scream’s powerful expression has proliferated into everyday life. It is one among the handful of artworks to be turned into emoji. It has also been made into Pop Art culture. ‘The Scream’ is not a single work of art, there are two paintings, 2 pastels and an unspecific number of prints. One of them was auctioned at Sotheby’s in 2012 and was sold for £74 million, making it one of the most expensive pieces of art ever sold.
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