The Scream is an art composition first created by the Norwegian artist
Edvard Munch in 1893. Its imagery has been interpreted as expressing the anxiety of modern humanity and influenced the
Expressionist movement. Munch described walking at sunset when the sky turned blood red and sensing an "infinite scream passing through nature". He produced four versions, two in paint and two in pastel, as well as a lithograph. The 1895 pastel sold at auction for nearly US$120
million in 2012. Versions of
The Scream were stolen from museums in Oslo in 1994 and 2004; both were later recovered. This 1893 painted version of
The Scream features the barely visible pencil inscription
Kan kun være malet af en gal Mand! ('could only have been painted by a madman'), and is in the collection of the
National Museum of Norway in Oslo.
Painting credit: Edvard Munch
