Edverd Munch--The Scream1893

「I was out walking with two friends - the sun began to set - 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 endless scream passing through nature.」 –Edverd Munch

(A quote from Munch Museet)

I was terribly shocked by this painting at the first time I saw it. Or I should say, whenever I stare at it for longer than five minutes. But why does this picture impress people so tremendously that it can even appear in their dreams? I think it’s the vivid and extraordinary anxiety this painting throws at its viewers. And this everlastingly preserved anxiety can be shared and identified by people since the time this painting was created.

Then why does Munch express anxiety so forcefully? Where is the source and how does it be portrayed?

First, let’s talk about the source of the anxiety. From Munch’s biography we know that he didn’t lead a good life in his childhood. The finance problem and his sister’s death of tuberculosis all blows hard at him, including his own bad health condition. I think this is the starting point where he could feel anxiety and fear so sensitively. By the way, Munch also has a painting on his sister’s death.

Then how does the anxiety be depicted so successfully? First we can read from the quotation above to understand what’s going on in Munch’s mind when he was standing at the bridge and suddenly became horribly and irresistibly anxious. It’s probably neat sunset while people go for a walk comfortably on the street and on the bridge. Children are playing, lovers holding hands…everyone is enjoying the beautiful sunset with contentment. The sky is dyed red by the sun.

However this gorgeous scene in normal eyes should be a terrifying monster for Munch! On contrast to the perfectly straight bridge, the cozy red light becomes sharp and nasty. The melody of the light flowing on the top is twisting with agitation. Under the bright shiny red, there lies clumsy and lifeless dark blue, also flowing twistingly. The contrasts between colors and lines tell the anxiety sincerely. From this, we can see and hear a piercing scream runs through the sky and vibrates the whole image. The screaming person covers his ears and his face and body twisted in an awkward way. He looks like a skull. The two passengers at the back aren’t aware of his scream and anxiety, still walking gracefully. From all those contrasts, colors and lines…the tension and strain are further extended.

I love this painting because it successfully depicts a mental condition that everybody can experience. We do sometimes feel so helpless, anxious. Not knowing what to do, we scream again and again inside, yet not the outer world. We tend to think that nobody understand our affliction and our own sorrow and torment are greater than others. But this picture tells us, no, we have company. Inside the deep, deep hole of human minds, there is the collective anxiety and restlessness we all share.