Molly Farrell-Savage

8 February, 2018
Critical Writing
Prof. George Wallace
Der Schrei der Verzweiflung
Between 1893 and 1910, Norwegian Expressionist artist Edvard Munch created four
versions of the same image depicting a turbulent red sky and a person with their eyes and mouth
wide open standing on what appears to be a bridge. Two people stand behind this person and do
not have the same reaction, or any reaction, to what the subject is witnessing or experiencing.
The title of this work is “Der Schrei der Natur” (German for “the scream of nature”) but most
English speakers know it as simply “The Scream.” The Scream is one of the most recognizable
pieces of Western Art and the explanation for the subject’s emotion has long been a subject of
wonder and controversy (Paulson).
Some have speculated that the subject of Munch’s image is screaming in reaction to
hearing the cries of animals being slaughtered at a nearby slaughterhouse. Others suspect that it
is a reaction to the sounds of anguish that could be heard from a nearby mental hospital
(Fineman). These are interesting interpretations but they don’t explain why only the main subject
is disturbed and not the two people behind it.
Munch was no stranger to hardship having experienced loss, poverty, illness, and heavy
drug use throughout his life. He was influenced by Nihilist philosophers when he was young,
particularly Hans Haeger and Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Fineman). Later in life, he spent most of his
time in solitude and once said, “The second half of my life has been a battle just to keep myself
upright” (Lubow). This indicates to me that the figure depicted in “The Scream” is expressing
not shock or terror but despair. This is supported by the composition of the image.
Expressionism is an artistic style that is focused more on depicting emotion than on
depicting a realistic image. It originated in the late 1800s with artists Vincent Van Gogh, James
Ensor, and Edvard Munch. The emotions that these works depicted were often unpleasant ones:
anxiety, frustration, and disgust (“Expressionism”). In 1895, Munch produced a black and white
lithograph version of “The Scream.” Interestingly, I find that the absence of color presents a far
more profound picture. The contrast between the now peaceful background and the figure’s
dramatic expression indicates that the subject’s emotion is not a reaction to it’s surroundings but
an expression of it’s own internal feelings. This interpretation still holds up when applied to the
color versions because the intense color is not a realistic representation of the world around but a
representation of the subject’s internal world.
Munch has stated that his painting is a representation of “an infinite scream passing
through nature” based on an experience that he had witnessing some sort of forest fire but I don’t
feel that is truly what is represented in the image. Perhaps this experience inspired him somewhat
but there is a disconnect between this explanation and what is depicted. Nature is not the subject
of the image nor does the subject appear to represent nature. The screaming figure is distinctly
human. Not man or woman, but human. It looks like a skeleton which goes back to Munch’s
early Nihilist inspiration. “The Scream” represents a person at the moment that they realize that
life is meaningless.
 Works Cited
Fineman, Mia. “Existential Superstar.” Slate, The Slate Group, 22 Nov. 2005, http://
www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2005/11/existential_superstar.html. Accessed: February 8,
2018

“Expressionism.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. 02 Jan. 2017, https://

www.britannica.com/art/Expressionism. Accessed: February 8, 2018

Lubow, Arthur. Smithsonian Magazine, Smithsonian Institution, March 2007, https://

www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/edvard-munch-beyond-the-scream-111810150/.
Accessed: February 8, 2018

Paulson, Noelle. “Munch, The Scream.” Khan Academy, Khan Academy,

www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/later-europe-and-americas/modernity-ap/a/
munch-the-scream. Accessed: February 8, 2018