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The Scream

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For other uses, see The Scream (disambiguation).

The Scream
Norwegian: Skrik,
German: Der Schrei der Natur
Man at bridge holding head with hands and screaming
ArtistEdvard Munch
Year1893
TypeOil, tempera, pastel and crayon on cardboard
Dimensions91 cm × 73.5 cm (36 in × 28.9 in)
LocationNational Gallery, Oslo, Norway

The Scream (Norwegian: Skrik) is the popular name given to each of four versions of a composition, created as both paintings and pastels, by the Expressionist artist Edvard Munch between 1893 and 1910. The German title Munch gave these works is Der Schrei der Natur (The Scream of Nature). The works show a figure with an agonized expression against a landscape with a tumultuous orange sky. Arthur Lubow has described The Scream as "an icon of modern art, a Mona Lisa for our time."[1]

Edvard Munch created the four versions in various media. The National Gallery, Oslo, holds one of two painted versions (1893, shown here). The Munch Museum holds the other painted version (1910, see gallery, below) and a pastel version from 1893. These three versions have not traveled for years.[2]

The fourth version (pastel, 1895) was sold for $119,922,600 at Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern Art auction on 2 May 2012 to financier Leon Black,[3][4] the fourth highest nominal price paid for a painting at auction.[5] The painting was on display in the Museum of Modern Art in New York from October 2012 to April 2013.

Also in 1895, Munch created a lithograph stone of the image. Of the lithograph prints produced by Munch, several examples survive.[6] Only approximately four dozen prints were made before the original stone was resurfaced by the printer in Munch's absence.[7]

The Scream has been the target of several high-profile art thefts. In 1994, the version in the National Gallery was stolen. It was recovered several months later. In 2004, both The Scream and Madonna were stolen from the Munch Museum, and were both recovered two years later.

Sources of inspiration

Edvard Munch, 1921

The original German title given by Munch to his work was Der Schrei der Natur ("The Scream of Nature"). The Norwegian word skrik usually is translated as "scream", but is cognate with the English "shriek". Occasionally, the painting also has been called The Cry.

In his diary in an entry headed "Nice 22 January 1892", Munch described his inspiration for the image:

One evening I was walking along a path, the city was on one side and the fjord below. I felt tired and ill. I stopped and looked out over the fjord—the sun was setting, and the clouds turning blood red. I sensed a scream passing through nature; it seemed to me that I heard the scream. I painted this picture, painted the clouds as actual blood. The color shrieked. This became The Scream.[8]

This memory was later rendered by Munch as a poem, which he hand-painted onto the frame of the 1895 pastel version of the work:

I was walking along the road 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.[9]

Among theories advanced to account for the reddish sky in the background is the artist's memory of the effects of the powerful volcanic eruption of Krakatoa, which deeply tinted sunset skies red in parts of the Western hemisphere for months during 1883 and 1884, about a decade before Munch painted The Scream.[10] This explanation has been disputed by scholars, who note that Munch was an expressive painter and was not primarily interested in literal renderings of what he had seen. Alternatively, it has been suggested that the proximity of both a slaughterhouse and a lunatic asylum to the site depicted in the painting may have offered some inspiration.[11] The scene was identified as being the view from a road overlooking Oslo, the Oslofjord and Hovedøya, from the hill of Ekeberg.[12] At the time of painting the work, Munch's manic depressive sister Laura Catherine was a patient at the asylum at the foot of Ekeberg.

In 1978, the Munch scholar Robert Rosenblum suggested that the strange, sexless creature in the foreground of the painting was inspired by a Peruvian mummy, which Munch could have seen at the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris. This mummy, which was buried in a fetal position with its hands alongside its face, also struck the imagination of Munch's friend Paul Gauguin: it stood as a model for figures in more than twenty of Gauguin's paintings, among those the central figure in his painting, Human misery (Grape harvest at Arles) and for the old woman at the left in his painting, Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?.[13] In 2004, an Italian anthropologist speculated that Munch might have seen a mummy in Florence's Museum of Natural History, which bears an even more striking resemblance to the painting.[14] Nonetheless, later studies have confirmed Rosenblum's suggestion, disproving the Italian theory, for Munch had not been to Florence until after painting The Scream.[15]

The imagery of The Scream has been compared to that which an individual suffering from depersonalization disorder experiences, a feeling of distortion of the environment and one's self,[16] and also facial pain in the form of Trigeminal neuralgia.[17]

Painting materials

The material composition of the 1893 painted version was examined in 2010.[18] The pigment analysis revealed the use of cadmium yellow, vermilion, ultramarine and viridian among other pigments of the 19th century.[19]

Thefts

The Scream has been the target of a number of thefts and theft attempts. Some damage has been suffered in these thefts.

Two men breaking into the National Gallery, Oslo, to steal the gallery's (1893 tempera on cardboard) version of The Scream, February 1994

1994 theft

On 12 February 1994, the same day as the opening of the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, two men broke into the National Gallery, Oslo, and stole its version of The Scream, leaving a note reading "Thanks for the poor security".[20][21] The painting had been moved down to a second-story gallery[22] as part of the Olympic festivities.[23] After the gallery refused to pay a ransom demand of US$1 million in March 1994, Norwegian police set up a sting operation with assistance from the British police (SO10) and the Getty Museum and the painting was recovered undamaged on 7 May 1994.[22] In January 1996, four men were convicted in connection with the theft, including Pål Enger, who had been convicted of stealing Munch's Vampire in 1988.[24] They were released on appeal on legal grounds: the British agents involved in the sting operation had entered Norway under false identities.[25]

2004 theft

The 1910 tempera on board version of The Scream was stolen on 22 August 2004, during daylight hours, when masked gunmen entered the Munch Museum in Oslo and stole it and Munch's Madonna.[26] A bystander photographed the robbers as they escaped to their car with the artwork. On 8 April 2005, Norwegian police arrested a suspect in connection with the theft, but the paintings remained missing and it was rumored that they had been burned by the thieves to destroy evidence.[27][28] On 1 June 2005, with four suspects already in custody in connection with the crime, the city government of Oslo offered a reward of 2 million Norwegian krone (roughly US$313,500 or €231,200) for information that could help locate the paintings.[29] Although the paintings remained missing, six men went on trial in early 2006, variously charged with either helping to plan or participating in the robbery. Three of the men were convicted and sentenced to between four and eight years in prison in May 2006, and two of the convicted, Bjørn Hoen and Petter Tharaldsen, were also ordered to pay compensation of 750 million kroner (roughly US$117.6 million or €86.7 million) to the City of Oslo.[30] The Munch Museum was closed for ten months for a security overhaul.[31]

On 31 August 2006, Norwegian police announced that a police operation had recovered both The Scream and Madonna, but did not reveal detailed circumstances of the recovery. The paintings were said to be in a better-than-expected condition. "We are 100 percent certain they are the originals," police chief Iver Stensrud told a news conference. "The damage was much less than feared."[32][33] Munch Museum director Ingebjørg Ydstie confirmed the condition of the paintings, saying it was much better than expected and that the damage could be repaired.[34] The Scream had moisture damage on the lower left corner, while Madonna suffered several tears on the right side of the painting as well as two holes in Madonna's arm.[35] Before repairs and restoration began, the paintings were put on public display by the Munch Museum beginning 27 September 2006. During the five-day exhibition, 5,500 people viewed the damaged paintings. The conserved works went back on display on 23 May 2008, when the exhibition "Scream and Madonna — Revisited" at the Munch Museum in Oslo displayed the paintings together.[36] Some damage to The Scream may prove impossible to repair, but the overall integrity of the work has not been compromised.[37][38]

Record sale at auction

The 1895 pastel-on-board version of the painting, owned by Norwegian businessman Petter Olsen, sold at Sotheby's in London for a record price of nearly US$120 million at auction on 2 May 2012.[39] The bidding started at $40 million and lasted for over 12 minutes when American businessman Leon Black by phone gave the final offer of US$119,922,500, including the buyer's premium.[4] Sotheby's said the painting was the most colorful and vibrant of the four versions painted by Munch and the only version whose frame was hand-painted by the artist to include his poem, detailing the work's inspiration.[2] After the sale, Sotheby's auctioneer Tobias Meyer said the painting was "worth every penny", adding: "It is one of the great icons of art in the world and whoever bought it should be congratulated."[40]

The previous record for the most expensive work of art sold at auction had been held by Picasso's Nude, Green Leaves and Bust, which went for US$106.5 million at Christie's two years prior on 4 May 2010.[41] When accounting for inflation, the highest price paid for art at an auction is still held by Van Gogh's Portrait of Dr. Gachet, which sold for $82.5 million in 1990, or about $192 million 2012 dollars.[42] There have been reports that The Card Players, by Cézanne, sold privately for $250m in 2011,[43][44] which can not be verified for the establishment of a record price.

In the late twentieth century, The Scream was imitated, parodied, and (following its copyright expiration) outright copied, which led to it acquiring an iconic status in popular culture. It was used on the cover of some editions of Arthur Janov's book The Primal Scream.[45] In 1983–1984, pop artist Andy Warhol made a series of silk prints copying works by Munch, including The Scream. His stated intention was to desacralize the painting by making it into a mass-reproducible object. Munch had already begun that process, however, by making a lithograph of the work for reproduction. Erró's ironic and irreverent treatment of Munch's masterpiece in his acrylic paintings The Second Scream (1967) and Ding Dong (1979) is considered a characteristic of post-modern art.[46] The expression of Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) in the poster for the movie Home Alone was inspired by The Scream. Cartoonist Gary Larson included a "tribute" to The Scream (entitled The Whine) in his Wiener Dog Art painting and cartoon compilation, in which the central figure is replaced by a howling dachshund. The Scream has been used in advertising, in cartoons such as The Simpsons, films, and on television. The principal alien antagonists depicted in the 2011 BBC series of Doctor Who, named "The Silence", have an appearance partially based on The Scream.[47] The Ghostface mask worn by the primary antagonists of the Scream series of horror movies is based on the painting, and was created by Brigitte Sleiertin, a Fun World employee, as a Halloween costume, prior to being discovered by Marianne Maddalena and Wes Craven for the film.[48]

In 2013, The Scream was one of four paintings that the Norwegian postal service chose for a series of stamps marking the 150th anniversary of Edvard Munch’s birth.[49]

A patient resource group for trigeminal neuralgia (which has been described as the most painful condition in existence) have also adopted the image as a symbol of the condition.[50]

In "The Missing Scream of Munch", an episode of the anime Detective Conan, the disappearance of The Scream provides the main part of the plot.[51]

The painting features in chapter 12 of Philip K. Dick's novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? The two bounty hunters, Deckard and Resch are on the trail of Luba Luft, a suspect android. The painting is described as follows: "The painting showed a hairless, oppressed creature with a head like an inverted pear, its hands clapped in horror to its ears, its mouth open in a vast soundless scream. Twisted ripples of the creature's torment, echoes of its cry, flooded out into the air surrounding it: the man or woman, whichever it was, had become contained by its own howl."

In most Unicode emoji renderings, U+1F631 😱 FACE SCREAMING IN FEAR is made to resemble the subject of the painting.[52]

US Department of Energy Scream

A simplified version of the subject of the painting is one of the pictographs considered by the US Department of Energy for use as a non-language-specific symbol of danger in order to warn future human civilizations of the presence of radioactive waste.[53]

In 2016, Good Smile Company produced a figma action figure based on The Scream.[54]

  • 1893: pastel on cardboard. As possibly the earliest version of The Scream, this pastel appears to be the sketch in which Munch mapped out the essentials of the composition.
    1893: pastel on cardboard. As possibly the earliest version of The Scream, this pastel appears to be the sketch in which Munch mapped out the essentials of the composition.
  • 1893: oil, tempera and pastel on cardboard. Perhaps the most recognizable version, located at the National Gallery in Oslo, Norway.
    1893: oil, tempera and pastel on cardboard. Perhaps the most recognizable version, located at the National Gallery in Oslo, Norway.
  • 1895: lithograph. Some 45 prints were made before the printer repurposed the lithograph stone.
    1895: lithograph. Some 45 prints were made before the printer repurposed the lithograph stone.
  • 1895: pastel on cardboard, was sold for more than US$120 million, at Sotheby's, in 2012.
    1895: pastel on cardboard, was sold for more than US$120 million, at Sotheby's, in 2012.
  • 1910: tempera on cardboard, was stolen from the Munch Museum in 2004, but recovered in 2006.
    1910: tempera on cardboard, was stolen from the Munch Museum in 2004, but recovered in 2006.

References

  1. ^ Arthur Lubow, Edvard Munch: Beyond The Scream, Smithsonian magazine, March 2006, (retrieved 29 March 2013)
  2. ^ a b Carol Vogel (17 September 2012). "'Scream' to Go on View at MoMA". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  3. ^ Vogel, Carol (2 May 2012). "'The Scream' Is Auctioned for a Record $119.9 Million". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  4. ^ a b Crow, Kelly (11 July 2012). "Munch's "The Scream" Sold to Financier Leon Black". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
  5. ^ Carol Vogel, At $142.4 Million, Triptych Is the Most Expensive Artwork Ever Sold at an Auction, The New York Times, 12 November 2013
  6. ^ "The Scream". Becoming Edvard Munch – Influence, Anxiety, and Myth. Art Institute of Chicago. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  7. ^ Alan Parker (2 May 2012). "Will The Real Scream Please Stand Up". Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  8. ^ "Quick Facts". Becoming Edvard Munch. The Art Institute of Chicago. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  9. ^ Peter Aspden (21 April 2012). "So, what does 'The Scream' mean?". Financial Times.
  10. ^ Olson, Donald W.; Russell L. Doescher; Marilynn S. Olson (May 2005). "The Blood-Red Sky of the Scream". APS News. 13 (5). American Physical Society. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
  11. ^ "Existential Superstar: Another look at Edvard Munch's The Scream" Slate.com Slate (22 November 2005). Retrieved 10 November 2008.
  12. ^ Egan, Bob. ""The Scream" (various media 1893–1910) – Edvard Munch – Painting Location: Oslo, Norway". PopSpots. Archived from the original on 23 July 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ "La momia de un sarcófago de la cultura Chachapoyas en la obra de Paul Gauguin". ResearchGate. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  14. ^ "Italian Mummy Source of 'Scream'?". Discovery Channel. 7 September 2004. Archived from the original on 11 October 2004. Retrieved 12 December 2006. (waybacked mirror).
  15. ^ "Edvard Munch y la Momia de un sarcófago de la Cultura Chachapoyas". ResearchGate. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  16. ^ Simeon, Daphne; Abugel, Jeffrey (2006). Feeling Unreal: Depersonalization Disorder and the Loss of the Self. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 127. ISBN 0-19-517022-9.
  17. ^ Williams, Christopher; Dellon, A.; Rosson, Gedge (5 March 2009). "Management of Chronic Facial Pain". Craniomaxillofacial Trauma and Reconstruction. 2 (02): 067–076. doi:10.1055/s-0029-1202593. PMC 3052669. PMID 22110799.
  18. ^ Brian Singer, Trond Aslaksby, Biljana Topalova-Casadiego and Eva Storevik Tveit, Investigation of Materials Used by Edvard Munch, Studies in Conservation 55, 2010, pp. 1–19. Available also on issuu.com
  19. ^ Edvard Munch, 'The Scream', ColourLex
  20. ^ "4 Norwegians Guilty In Theft of 'The Scream'". The New York Times. AP. 18 January 1996. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
  21. ^ Alex Bello: From the archive, 9 May 1994: Edvard Munch's stolen Scream recovered in undercover sting The Guardian, 9 May 2012
  22. ^ a b Dolnick, Edward (June 2005). The Rescue Artist: A True Story of Art, Thieves, and the Hunt for a Missing Masterpiece. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-053117-1.
  23. ^ "On this day: Art thieves snatch Scream". BBC News Online. 12 February 1994. Retrieved 31 August 2006.
  24. ^ "Master plan". The Guardian. 13 June 2005. Retrieved 21 December 2007.
  25. ^ Matthew Hart, The Irish Game: A True Story of Crime and Art, Viking Canada, 2004, p. 184.
  26. ^ "Scream stolen from Norway museum". BBC News. 22 August 2004. Retrieved 3 September 2006.
  27. ^ "Oslo police arrest Scream suspect". BBC News. 8 April 2005. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
  28. ^ "Famous Munch paintings destroyed?". Norway Post. 28 April 2005. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
  29. ^ "Reward offered for Scream return". BBC News. 1 June 2005. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
  30. ^ "Three guilty of The Scream theft". BBC News. 2 May 2006. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
  31. ^ "Entertainment | Scream theft museum reopens doors". BBC News. 18 June 2005. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  32. ^ "Munch paintings recovered". Aftenposten. 31 August 2006. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
  33. ^ "Stolen Munch paintings found safe". BBC News. 31 August 2006. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
  34. ^ "Munch paintings 'can be repaired'". BBC News. 1 September 2006. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
  35. ^ "Museum to exhibit damaged Munch paintings". Aftenposten. 12 October 2006. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
  36. ^ "Munch Museum". Munch.museum.no. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  37. ^ "About the conservation of The Scream and Madonna". Munch Museum. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
  38. ^ "'The Scream' to go back on display after 2004 heist". AFP. 3 March 2008.
  39. ^ [1]
  40. ^ "Edvard Munch's iconic artwork The Scream sold for $120m". BBC News. BBC. 3 May 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  41. ^ Michaud, Chris (3 May 2012). ""The Scream" sells for record $120 million at auction". Reuters. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  42. ^ Suzanne Muchni, Van Gogh Painting Sells at Record $82.5 Million, Los Angeles Times, 16 May 1990.
  43. ^ Peers, Alexandra (January 2012). "Qatar Purchases Cézanne's The Card Players for More Than $250 Million, Highest Price Ever for a Work of Art". QuatarSale. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
  44. ^ "Daily chart: The $cream". The Economist. 3 May 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  45. ^ Janov, Arthur. (1977). The Primal Scream. New York: Abacus. ISBN 0-349-11834-5.
  46. ^ "Scream on the Surface". Munch-Museet. Retrieved 29 May 2005.
  47. ^ "Doctor Who boss says season start is 'darkest yet'". BBC. 5 April 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  48. ^ Kendzior, Sarah (January 2000). "The Face of "Scream"". Fangoria (189). Starlog Group Inc.: 29.
  49. ^ NTB: Munchs «Skrik» blir frimerke (in Norwegian) Dagbladet, February 13, 2013
  50. ^ "Facial Neuralgia Resources". Trigeminal Neuralgia Resources / Facial Neuralgia Resources. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  51. ^ "The Missing Scream of Munch – Detective Conan Wiki". Detectiveconanworld.com. 18 April 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2015.[better source needed]
  52. ^ "😱 Face Screaming in Fear". Emojipedia. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  53. ^ "Permanent Markers Implementation Plan. August 19, 2004, United States Department of Energy Waste Isolation Pilot Plant" (PDF).
  54. ^ "figma The Scream". Good Smile Company. Retrieved 7 November 2016.

Further reading

  • Temkin, A., The Scream: Edvard Munch, Museum of Modern Art 2012
  • Heller, R., Edvard Munch: The Scream, Penguin, London 1973
Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Scream by Edvard Munch.
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