The Scream
The Scream (Norwegian: Skrik, German: Schrei) is a motif by the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch depicted in five artworks between 1893-1910. The most famous version of the motif is the oil painting from 1910, which currently displays at the Munch Museum in Oslo. The motif is regarded as one of the most iconic artworks ever created, and as a formative piece in the early expressionist movement, it has been described as "the Mona Lisa of modern art". The vibrant, dreamlike colors of the background, coupled with the agonized figure at the centre of the painting, depicts the anxiety and fear of the human condition. The motif has through the years become a general cultural symbol of angst and existential dread.As inspiring the motif, Munch recalled that he had been out for a walk at sunset when suddenly, "the sun was setting, suddenly the sky turned blood red [...] I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature". Scholars have located the spot to a fjord overlooking Oslo and have suggested other explanations for the unnaturally orange sky, ranging from the effects of a volcanic eruption to a psychological reaction by Munch to his sister's commitment at a nearby lunatic asylum. Munch created two versions in paint and two drawn copies, as well as a lithograph stone from which several prints survive. The pastel drawing of the motif was auctioned to private hands in 2012 for 120 million dollars; at the time the most expensive art work ever sold. The remaining four copies are owned by the Norwegian.
group of paintings by Edvard Munch
group of paintings work of art