The Scream (original) (raw)
The Scream (1893) is an unforgettable Expressionist painting by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. It is regarded by many as his most important work, a symbol of modern man, finding no solitude. The landscape in the background is Oslo, viewed from the hill of Nordstrand. The reproduced painting hangs in the Munch-museet, Oslo. The most famous version, however, is in the Nasjonalgalleriet, Oslo.
Munch himself wrote:
I was walking along a path with two friends - the sun was setting - suddenly the sky turned blood red - I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence - there was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city - my friends walked on, and I stood there trembling with anxiety - and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature.
In 2003 astronomers claimed to have identified the exact place and time the painting depicted. The eruption of Krakatoa in 1883 caused unusually intense sunsets throughout Europe in the winter of 1883-4, which Munch captured in his picture.
