The Scream by Edvard Munch
12.12.1863 -23.01.1944

There are many pieces of art that one can classify as unforgettable. One of the most famous artworks is ‘The Scream’ by Edvard Munch.

Inspired after a walk with his friends to an Oslo Fjord in the late 1800s, he recalled how he saw the sun setting and felt as if the blood-red sky was screaming out to him. The fact that his heart was beating wildly after the long walk, probably had an additional influence.

On a piece of 91 cm × 73.5 cm cardboard, he used a combination of oil and pastels to paint an eerie figure with their hands on their head screaming in shock, pain, or agony. With an expressionist backdrop of a wooden pier and possibly a couple of his friends in the background, the contrast with the blood-red sky has never been equalled.

Munch produced four versions of the same picture, two using pastels and two in oil, as well as a lithograph stone from which several prints have still survived. Similar to the Mona Lisa, both oil paintings were stolen and later recovered thus increasing their popularity and interest for the general public.

Personally, it is a painting that I love for its vibrant colours and how the eye is drawn to the central figure. One can imagine that they are running along the pier to get away from something terrible that is happening to them. It is a picture that can also be interpreted for our modern younger generation. Our teenage protagonist has just dropped their mobile phone into the lake and for them, it is the ultimate disaster!