THE SCREAM – EDVARD MUNCH | [HR] PAINTING & FACTS
The Scream 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.”
FACTS ABOUT PAINTING
THE SCREAM ISN’T ONE PIECE, BUT FOUR.
Munch created a quartet of executions of the familiar scene. In 1893, the Norwegian artist made a painted version as well as a crayon piece. Two years later, he created another pastel version. Then in 1910, he used tempera paints on board for his final Scream.
THE SCREAM MIGHT ALSO BE ABOUT SUICIDE.
Munch scholar Sue Prideaux places the creation of the first Scream in a time when the Norwegian painter was broke, fresh off a failed love affair, and fearful of developing the mental illness that ran in his family. To Prideaux, it’s no coincidence that the bridge depicted in The Scream was a popular spot for jumpers. Tellingly, it sat within earshot of a slaughterhouse and an insane asylum where Munch’s schizophrenic sister resided.
MUNCH ALSO MASS-PRODUCED THE IMAGE.
Once his Scream caught on in the European art scene, Munch made a lithograph of the concept so that he could sell black-and-white prints at will. These prints got a second life of sorts in 1984, courtesy of Andy Warhol. In the wake of its Munch exhibition, the New York–based Galleri Bellman commissioned the pop art pioneer to recreate Munch’s lithographs as a screen print. Warhol did the same for Munch’s Madonna, The Brooch, and Self-Portrait with Skeleton’s Arm.
THE SCREAM MIGHT ALSO BE ABOUT SUICIDE.
Munch scholar Sue Prideaux places the creation of the first Scream in a time when the Norwegian painter was broke, fresh off a failed love affair, and fearful of developing the mental illness that ran in his family. To Prideaux, it’s no coincidence that the bridge depicted in The Scream was a popular spot for jumpers. Tellingly, it sat within earshot of a slaughterhouse and an insane asylum where Munch’s schizophrenic sister resided.
IT INSPIRED THE MASK OF WES CRAVEN’S SCREAM KILLER.
The director of the hit slasher franchise counts Munch’s Scream as one of his favorite works of art, and has said, “It’s a classic reference to just the pure horror of parts of the 20th century, or perhaps just human existence.”
THE SCREAM ALSO INFLUENCED DOCTOR WHO.
In the re-launched sci-fi series, the beloved Doctor faces off against universe threatening aliens known as the Silence. Executive producer Steven Moffat confessed the look of these terrifying creators was inspired in part by Munch’s Scream.
TWO MILLION M&M’S WERE OFFERED AS A REWARD FOR ITS RETURN…
In August 2006, Mars, Inc. became involved in the recovery efforts as a marketing ploy to promote the brand’s new dark chocolate M&Ms. Along with an ad that featured the red M&M playing hopscotch within the iconic painting, Mars offered up the sweet reward.
THE SCREAM IS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
Well, more specifically, The Scream–and all other works by Munch–are in the public domain in nations that embrace the “life plus 70 years” copyright term. As Munch died in 1944, January 1, 2015 marked the issuing of his works into the public domain in countries like Brazil, Israel, Nigeria, Russia, Turkey, and those within the European Union. It was already public domain in the United States because it was created before 1923
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