Tava Reese

Art Critique
7/26/2021

Edvard Munch “The Scream”

I decided to write my critique paper on Edvard Munch and his painting called “The Scream”.

The painting was introduced in 1893 as tempura and casein on cardboard which is 36” x 29”. Edvard

Munch had an extremely difficult childhood after loosing his mother and siblings at a young age. He

was also very ill as a child and was always encouraged to express himself through his art. Maybe that is

why he is now considered the first expressionist artist.“The Web Museum (2002) defines expressionism

as “a movement in fine arts that emphasized the expression of inner experience rather than solely

realistic portrayal, seeking to depict not objective reality but the subjective emotions and responses that

objects and events arouse in the artist.” In the years leading up to his fathers death he became involved

in radical anarchist group, but as a child he was raised to be religious. It is after his fathers death that he

painted “The Scream”. Some people theorize that he struggled with his religious identity after he lost

his father. In January 1892 Munch wrote in his diary:“I was walking along the road with two friends.

The sun was setting. I felt a breath of melancholy –Suddenly the sky turned blood-red. I stopped, and

leaned against the railing, deathly tired –Looking out across the flaming clouds that hung like blood

and a sword over the blue-black town. My friends walked on – I stood there, trembling with fear. And I

sensed a great, infinite scream pass through nature.” This diary passage is now widely associated with

“The Scream”.

When you first look at the painting it looks like a man alone on a bridge at sunset. Upon further

inspection you can see that there are two other figures in the distance. In my opinion he does this

intentionally to tell us that although there are people around us that we are often times alone in our

despair. That is the emotion that is so clearly defined in the painting. This man, alone in his despair in

the middle of a bridge. The most appealing visual elements of the painting is the colors used. He uses
dark colors on the man, again to give him the sense of grief and darkness. In the sky he uses bold,

passionate reds and oranges in such deep brushstrokes to show movement and violence. The movement

and fluidity of his lines are almost like everything is not solid or real, its as if he is in an altered state of

mind. I am not sure if this is due to depression, drugs, grief or intentional. I want to think that it is

intentional to show how unrealistic our life becomes when dealing with grief and that we are never the

same after such a loss.

The bridge in the painting is the most realistic and is done in such great detail. If you look

closely you can almost count the boards. The bridge is also the only part of the painting that he used

perfectly straight lines. Munch gives the bridge weight and depth with his use of light and shadows. He

is telling us that it is the only solid thing. He also uses the lines to draw your eye up to the two figures

in the background. He also uses the handrail on the bridge to separate the solid foreground to the fluid

movement of the water and sky. He wants us to know that the man is not in the movement but standing

on solid ground. When describing someone in the throws of grief standing on a bridge, the first thing

we think is that the man is going to jump. Munch is very deliberate to tell us that the man is not

jumping, he is standing apart or separate from the violence.

Munch was very intentional in his use of proportions, at first glance the painting seems

perfectly proportionate. Upon further inspection it feels like the main character or the man doing his

scream is slightly small. If he was that close to the front of the painting he should be larger. So why is

he only slightly larger than the background characters? It is as if the main character is of little

consequence in the grand scheme of things even though he is essentially “The Scream”. It is as if the

painting is telling us so many huge life lessons in one simple painting. Edvard Munch is trying to

express that life is so much bigger than we are and that we are always alone in our grief. It is such a

tragic story of loss that has been replicated so many times. In fact Munch himself was a print-maker
and made lithographs and prints of his own paintings. It was as if he knew what a profound effect he

would have on our world for many years to come.

Most people do not realize that “The Scream” was part of a series called “The Frieze of Life”

that Munch had done featuring love, fear, death, melancholy and anxiety. Back in 1889 Munch became

involved with a group and the groups leader Hans Jaeger taught Munch all about modernism and

influenced him to paint his anxieties. It was soon after that Munch lost his father and set out to create

“The Scream”. It isn’t hard to guess that Munch was suffering from grief and was in anguish over his

fathers passing.

Overall I really enjoyed learning about “The Scream”. It is so replicated and popular that almost

everyone has seen it in their life but only a few know the history behind the painting. I am glad that

Munch used tempura to express his passion to do the painting correctly even though it dries quickly. I

think the texture it creates helps add to the movement of the piece. The piece itself is very sad but

hopeful. The fact that the man may be in grief but is standing on the sturdiest bridge ever gives one

hope that the anguish will pass. The fact that the figures that he describes in his diary as friends also

gives us hope that he has people who are there just steps away waiting to help. The whole painting

screams anguish and grief but it also tells of a story of love, friendship and hope.

Work Cited:

The Scream by Edvard Munch (edvard-munch.org)

"The Scream" by Edvard Munch: A Critical Analysis - Owlcation