Marina Wu, Shuk Wa talks on Edvard Munch: The Scream (1893)

Edvard Munch: The Scream (1893)

• full details of the work
  -artist: Edvard Munch
  -title: The Scream
  -year: 1893
  -medium: Tempera and casein on cardboard
  -dimensions: 913×737 mm
  
• an explanation of how the work fits into a broader style or movement
  
  The Scream can be fits into Post-Impressionism, Expressionism and Symbolism.
  
  
  Firstly, for Post-Impressionism, do not interest in portraying the real world objectively. In fact, the purpose of Munch to make this work of art is to express his personal feeling, emotion, rather that depicting the real world. Also, the form, such as lines, is addressed in the artworks of Post-Impressionism. Works are painted with visible and distinctive brushstrokes. In “The Scream”, we can see the lines of color in the sky, the sea and the bridge are being addressed, and the painting is made with basic form.
  
  
  Next, “The Scream” can be matched in Symbolism since the work is showing the internal, irrational world of Munch. Artworks of Symbolism play attention to the dark side and extreme psychological states like anxiety, death, and hopelessness of human beings. For Munch, he painted this work since he wanted to express his sudden anxiety, which is a state of mind, emotion, rather than a rational or physical side of him.
  
  Finally, For the Expressionism, this work of art belong to this art movement since it fits in to the goal that to ‘make things visible’, Munch in this work of art had transformed his feeling of fear into an artwork by using colors and lines. Also, Expressionist always painted their work of art with exaggerated, unusual figures and expressive colors. In the painting, the sky and the yelling man in simplified, distorted forms. The reddish and dark blue color used by Munch in order to tell his feeling. All these can fit into the characteristics of Expressionism.
  To conclude, Munch’s “The Scream” can be fit into 3 particular movements.
   
• A description of the work

This work of art is painted by Munch in 1893 in order to express his feeling of anxiety, as he mentioned:

“I was out walking with two friends - the sun began to set - suddenly the sky turned blood red - I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence - there was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city - my friends walked on, and I stood there trembling with anxiety - and I sensed an endless scream passing through nature.”

He’d express his feeling by using these features:

Firstly, for the composition, the main object, the yelling man is located in the lower central part of the painting. The scale of the man is small; he is surrounded by large area of background, the sky, sea and bridge and pedestrians at the back. This composition produces a feeling that the man was being oppressed by the surroundings.

Secondly, Munch has simplified the forms of the objects in this painting. Instead, many lines are used. For the main character, the body shade is simplified into cartoon form, it’s not realistic. Under the sky and ocean with irregular curve lines, the curved body shade of the yelling man provided a feeling that he is pressurized by the background. Also, with the use of these curve lines and straight lines of the bridge, viewers’ attention is being guided from the background to the yelling man by following these lines.   

Finally for the color, the Scream has used nonlocal colors such as reddish orange. This color tone with the use of contrast color of orange and blue give a great sense of psychological instability.

To conclude, the Scream expresses the mood of Munch by the composition, use of lines and color.

• one key quote about the work in question 

"The Scream…It is a image of fear─the terrifying, unreasoned fear we feel in the nightmare. …Munch visualizes this experience without the aid of frightening apparitions, and his picture is more persuasive for that very reason. The rhythm of the long wavy lines seems to carry the echo of the scream into every corner of the picture, so that earth and shy become one great sounding board of fear. "

(Horst Woldemar Janson, Anthony F. Janson,History of art: the western tradition, http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=MMYHuvhWBH4C&q=the+scream#v=snippet&q=the%20scream&f=false)

• why this work interests you/ your own opinion of the work 

In my opinion, this painting is really expressive that  really shows the theme (feeling of Munch) to the audiences.

Firstly, the background of this artwork really drives viewers to that emotion. the colors of this painting are very eye-catching. The sharp contrast of colors between orange and blue created a great sense of agitation to the viewers. Also, the waving lines formed by the clear brushstrokes in the sky and sea have enhanced the mood.

The combination of the background and the main character, the man, all these help to express and sharpen the feeling of the artist, which is the main theme of this work.

As a result, I think this work of art is very expressive. 

• names of authors, titles of articles, books or websites (and publication information) that are especially relevant to this work
  
1. 張敢, Art of Europe in the 19th century, 中國人民大學出版社
2.  Page 274 of 273-282, Edward Munch education source, National Gallery of Victoria,http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/40973/ngv_edures_edvardmunch.pdf
3.  Horst Woldemar Janson, Anthony F. Janson,History of art: the western tradition, http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=MMYHuvhWBH4C&q=the+scream#v=snippet&q=the%20scream&f=false
4. 李紅潔 肖玲玲,Stories of Famous Paintings-World Volume, 中國書籍出版社
5.  Munch museum,http://www.munch.museum.no/content.aspx?id=15&mid=&lang=en

• a thought-provoking question about the work for the class
  Which visual element (space,form etc.)in this artwork do you think is  most important  in expressing the theme?Why?