Edvard Munch's The Scream

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It is one of, if not the most widely known and famous painting in history. The Scream was the name given to the composition that was painted by Edvard Munch back in 1893; it is based on an actual experience of a scream in nature that Munch had himself while walking. In the painting you can see the two figures in the background, they represent Munch's companions who had left him. The Scream is one of the most iconic art pieces in history and that makes it a high profile target, The scream has been the target of several thefts throughout history the most recent being in 1944 when a version was stolen from the National Gallery, only to be recovered several months later. Edvard Munch's painting The Scream is not only his most famous painting but …show more content…
For instance, you would think that there is only one scream painting; false, there is actually four different versions of The Scream all painted by Edvard munch at different times. Said to be his first one, yet there is no solid evidence this version of the painting was done back in 1893 and it was done with tempera on cardboard, it is the most well known and famous version of the painting that exist today; this was the version that was stolen from the Oslo National Gallery in 1944. The other versions of the painting were crayon on cardboard, pastel on cardboard, and a second tempera on cardboard again in 1910. One of the questions still asked is where did his inspiration for such a piece come from and the closest answer they have is a quote from Munch's private diary dated january 22, 1892. The quote is probable inspiration for the scream, according to khan academy munch wrote “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 [tear] through nature”(par 4). Through this quote it's probable that the figure in the painting was a symbolic reference of Munch himself. Though it is his most famous …show more content…
Edvard Munch was a troubled man and was known to have quite a bit of repressed memories as he grew up which may be part of the reason his work took a deeper tone. Some of his most used themes were pain, anxiety, depression, and death; the tragedies, sickness, and failures in his life fueled his work. Munch one wrote “without anxiety and illness, I am a ship without a rudder...My sufferings are part of myself and my art. They are indistinguishable from me, and their destruction would destroy my