Meaning of The Scream (1893) Painting by Edvard Munch: Art Analysis

Edvard Munchs painting The Scream has a lot of similarities with Vincent Van
Gogh's art Starry Night. For one, both paintings were painted near the end of the
century, during the fin de sicle, using bright exaggerated colors and simplistic
figures and shapes. Both artists struggled with insanity during their lifetimes,
butThe Scream (1893) and Starry Night are some of the most reproduced and
famous pieces of art in the world today. But what is the meaning of the
painting The Screamby Edvard Munch?
Art History Behind Edvard Munchs The Scream (1893)

The Norwegian artist

Edvard Munchs painting The Screamwas painted in 1893 during a unique
transitional period in art history. The Scream was painted after the end of the
photographic Realist era, when artists wanted to show off their technical
skills.The Scream was also painted right before the Expressionists and other
artists of the early twentieth century made it a trend to put a focus on the
expression of their inner feelings and emotions through their art rather than
displaying how realistically they could paint an image or object.

The Starry Night and The Scream both fall between these two distinct periods in
art history, with both paintings often cited by art history scholars as possibly
serving as the spark that ignited the big paradigm shift that occurred around this
time. Unlike Van Gogh, however, Edvard Munch received much public
attention for his art, mostly in the form of media controversy, during his actual
lifetime and artistic career.
Edvard Munch: Anxiety of the Artist
In his diaries, the artist Edvard Munch admits that he struggled with insanity not
only on a personal level during his life, but also through his family. In fact, his
sister was hospitalized for insanity at the time The Scream was painted in 1893.
If given a thorough enough analysis, the personal lives of most artists are not
perfect portraits of happiness. What makes Edvard Munch a different kind of
artist is that he shows us an honest, even ugly, glimpse of his inner troubles and
feelings of anxiety through his painting The Scream, putting more importance on
personal meaning than on technical skill or beauty, a traditional goal of art.
The Scream by Edvard Munch: Modern Art Analysis
According to Munchs personal diaries, the idea for the modern art painting The
Scream came to him while looking down over the Norwegian landscape from an
elevation. While a mountaintop or a scenic view from a summit might sound like
a beautiful natural landscape to paint, Munchs personal interpretation of nature
below was very different than you might imagine.
"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."
Interpretation of Munch's famous The Scream Quote
What does the famous Edvard Munch quote associated with The Scream mean?
On the surface, Munch describes a typical evening in Norway, taking a walk at
sunset with some friends beside a "fjord." While an evening out walking by the
water might sound relaxing and enjoyable at first, on closer look we see that
Munch is really describing a moment of an almost existential personal crisis. In
the painting's background, we can see two people walking away (probably the
"two friends" Munch describes) in the other direction, creating the feelings of
isolation and "fear" the artist talks about in his quotation. In the manner of a true
Expressionist painter, Munch uses color to express his emotional reactions to his
environment, commenting on the "red" sky and the "bluish black" fjord, described
almost as an all-consuming black hole hell where "tongues of fire" savagely lick

at the frazzled and overwhelmed subject, unidentifiable as either a man or

woman.
While there is certainly something ominous about Munch's description of The
Scream landscape, the repeated use of the word "blood" in combination with the
twirling, swirling, and whirling warm tones used to paint the background suggest
actual physical violence. What is the source of violence in this seemingly isolated
landscape in Norway? Art history sources indicate that a slaughterhouse was
within earshot of the the spot illustrated in The Scream painting. The proximity of
the slaughterhouse could very well account for Munch's repeated mentions of
"blood" in connection with the painting.
Along with the slaughterhouse, the very mental asylum where Munch's own sister
was hospitalized was very nearby, too, causing us to wonder: Who is the subject
inThe Scream? While it seems obvious that the painting is a self portrait of the
artist himself, due to the ambiguity of the subject's gender, the sexless person
depicted inThe Scream may actually be a working combination of both Edvard
Munch and his sick sister, hospitalized in the asylum nearby.
Meaning of The Scream (1893) by Edvard Munch
What is the meaning of Edvard Munch's 1893 modern art painting The Scream?
When it all comes down to it, a "scream" is above all a sound and an auditory
sensation. The wailing of both the dying animals and the cries overheard coming
from the nearby insane asylum, however faint they may have been, give an
added and potent personal and autobiographical meaning to the painting's
simple title. The true meaning behind the title of Edvard Munch's "soul
painting" The Scream may very well come back to the decidedly ugly, even
hideous, sounds of living beings undergoing both physical and emotional
suffering in the modern age.

http://legomenon.com/meaning-of-the-scream-1893-painting-by-edvard-munch.html

Edvard Munch: The Scream

October 24, 2012April 29, 2013
Fifth floor
View related events
Edvard Munchs iconic The Scream (1895), among the most celebrated and
recognized images in art history, will be on view at The Museum of Modern Art for a
period of six months. Of the four versions of The Scream made by Munch between
1893 and 1910, this pastel-on-board from 1895 is the only one remaining in private
hands; the three other versions are in the collections of museums in Norway. The
Scream is being lent by a private collector.
"The startling power of Munch's original work endures almost despite the image's
present-day ubiquity," notes Ann Temkin, The Marie-Jose and Henry Kravis Chief
Curator of Painting and Sculpture, who is organizing the installation. "The visual
subtlety and complexity of this composition can't be summed up in a clich."
A haunting rendition of a hairless figure on a bridge under a yellow-orange sky, The
Scream has captured the popular imagination since the time of its making. The
image was originally conceived by Munch as part of his epic Frieze of Life series,
which explored the progression of modern life by focusing on the themes of love,
angst, and death. Especially concerned with the expressive representation of
emotions and personal relationships, Munch was associated with the international
development of Symbolism during the 1890s and recognized as a precursor of 20thcentury Expressionism.

The Scream will be installed in the Museums Painting and Sculpture Galleries, along
with a selection of prints by Munch drawn from the Museum's extensive collection of
his work.
Please note that during Member Early Viewing Hours, this exhibition is not open to
the general public until 10:30 a.m.

http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/1330