The Scream

Edvard Munch. The Scream. 1893. Tempera and casein on cardboard. 36x29 in. Nasjonalgalleriet (National Gallery), Oslo, Norway

Style(s): Symbolism, Expressionism, Abstract, Impressionism

Significance: This tends to be over seen. Why has The Scream been known to be one of the most famous pieces in Art History. This is mostly due to the echoing of curves in the figure's mouth and skull; and in the water and clouds, as if to represent the sound coming from the figure booms out into the space around him. It is also famous for its use of a primitive form.

The most interesting thing about Munch's painting is its title. Although it is commonly recognized as The Scream, there is also some evidence that it is called The Cry. Marilyn Stokstad's Art History textbook refers to it as The Scream, however Gardner's Art Through The Ages (Kleiner & Mamiya) calls it The Cry. The Edvard Munch website calls the painting The Scream, however it does acknowledge that it is sometimes referred to as The Cry. The Oslo National Gallery (where the painting is housed) website calls it The Scream, as well as The Munch Museum, which holds another variation of the painting (by Munch).

The question of the title leads into the question of the painting's subject. If the title is a misconception of the piece, then so is the content. When it is called The Scream, audiences obviously look at the subject as a person screaming. It also then is assumed that he is frightened by the two figures in the background approaching him. However in reference to the epigraph Munch wrote himself:

" I stopped and leaned against the balustrade, almost dead with fatigue. Above the blue-black fjord hung the clouds, red as blood and tongues of fire. My friends had left me, and alone, trembling with anguish, I became aware of the vast, infinite cry of nature."

This is quoted in several of my sources; including the ones which refer to the piece as The Scream. By this standard it should be called The Cry and the subject is someone crying because the two figures are LEAVING.

Later I found out that the piece is named Skrik, which is the Norwegian word for shriek, cry, and/or scream. So it is hard to know which Munch was trying to depict: someone crying due to a loss, or a scream due to fear.

In POP CULTURE

in Home Alone

in Looney Tunes: Back in Action

in Scream (the mask)

The Scream balloon

and the following images:

The Inflatable Scream (which i found a picture of) is used in the sitcom The Nanny at least twice. In one particular episode, the context is changed to an expression of shock.

The painting was used in an M&Ms ad to introduce M&Ms dark chocolate (pictured below)