From the artist's life
Munch described the origin of The Scream as a walk at sunset when the sky turned blood-red and he sensed an infinite scream passing through nature.
Source: Wikipedia / WikimediaSymbolism
Edvard Munch
Edvard Munch (1863–1944) was the Norwegian pioneer of Expressionism, painting raw anxiety, love and death. The Scream has become a universal image of modern dread.
Munch turned inner emotion into visible form, becoming a direct forerunner of German Expressionism.
- Painted several versions of The Scream; two were famously stolen and later recovered.
- Drew on personal grief — his mother and sister died young — to paint love, illness and death.
- His emotional, distorted style made him a founding father of Expressionism.
Key works
Where to start
Complete list of key works
Works with a dedicated ArtAtlas page are highlighted in gold.
- The ScreamOn ArtAtlas
- VampireListed for reference
- Death and the ChildListed for reference
- Dr. Linde's SonsListed for reference
- From TravemündeListed for reference
- Arve ArvesenListed for reference
- The Girls on the BridgeListed for reference
- Lothar Linde in Red JacketListed for reference
- Self-Portrait with the Spanish FluListed for reference
1893
The Scream
The Scream is an art composition created by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch in 1893. The Norwegian name of the piece is Skrik ('Scream'), and the German title under which it was first exhibited is Der Schrei der Natur.