The Scream: Could Only Have Been Painted by a Madman

B. (2021, May 13). The Scream. Blobthescientist.Blogspot. http://blobthescientist.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-scream.html

In recent months, an inscription in the corner of The Scream (1893 version), one of the most famous works of art history, has come to the fore again. It was a matter of curiosity who wrote the sentence “could only have been painted by a madman,”. While some assumed that the painting was abused by someone who did not like the painting, others thought that it was written by Edvard Munch, the creator of the painting. After numerous assumptions, it has been revealed that the person was writing the mysterious inscription on The Scream.

Infrared scans by the National Museum of Norway showed that it was Edvard Munch who wrote the inscription. The inscription is thought to have been added two years after the work was completed. The artist of a painting that has managed to arouse intense and fascinating emotions in almost everyone, making such a comment encouraged people to think about the background of the painting.

The Moment of ‘The Scream’

Sanderson, D. A. C. (2021, February 21). Maddening mystery of Edvard Munch’s Scream graffiti solved. News | The Times. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/maddening-mystery-of-edvard-munchs-scream-graffiti-solved-ffjrndq7c

When the painting was first exhibited, it received intense criticism and Munch’s mental health became disputable. According to his diaries, Munch was very upset after these disputes. It is estimated that the painter wrote the inscription because of these reactions.

Edvard Munch explained that he portrayed a momentary existential crisis in this artwork. At sunset, while he and his friends were walking along a path like the one in the painting, he suddenly stopped and looked up to the sky. He was already suffering from existential crises, he suddenly felt tired, anxious, he became claustrophobic, and heard an endless scream from nature. He described this moment in the framework of the 1895 version of the painting. Although there is no scientific explanation for this condition at the time of the event, now we can link these symptoms with panic attack.

Background of Edvard Munch’s Life

A. (2019, January 7). Edvard Munch Kimdir? Hayatı ve Sanatçının Bilinmeyenleri. Artkolik. https://www.artkolik.net/sanatcilar/edvard-munch-kimdir-hayati-ve-sanatcinin-bilinmeyenleri-3568

 “I cannot get rid of my illnesses, for there is a lot in my art that exists only because of them,”

Munch lived a life prone to mental problems due to his family background. First, he lost his mother when he was five and one of his sisters when he was 13. Later in his life, his other sister was diagnosed with schizophrenia and committed to a mental hospital. Moreover, his father was also severely suffering from depression. He verbally abused Edward. Later, the degree of violence increased as he disliked Edvard’s career. In conclusion, Numerous traumas from this childhood gave him many mental health problems. Besides the barriers brought about by mental health, he also experienced some political problems about his artwork. In 1937, his works were appropriated by Hitler’s government.

So, it wouldn’t be right to see ‘The Scream’ as just a panic attack product. It is also possible to see him transferring the difficult feelings he experienced throughout his life into his other paintings. His paintings are characterized by figures with a sense of helplessness and anguish.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7