Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History


    • The Scream, 1895
    Edvard Munch (Norwegian, 1863–1944)
    Lithograph; image: 14 1/16 x 9 5/16 in. (35.7 x 23.6 cm); sheet: 20 1/4 x 15 5/8 in. (51.4 x 39.7 cm)
    Bequest of Scofield Thayer, 1982 (1984.1203.1)

    The extreme familiarity of this image today makes it hard to realize how shocking it and other works by Munch were when they were created slightly over a hundred years ago. Munch's art represented his own emotions, mostly the darker ones of fear, dread, loneliness, and sexual longing, with extraordinary expressiveness. The screaming figure personifies existential horror. A precursor of this image is a drawing of a man (Munch himself) on a similar bridge, with a blood-red sky above. A text accompanying this drawing states: "I walked with two friends. Then the sun sank. Suddenly the sky turned as red as blood … My friends walked on, and I was left alone, trembling with fear. I felt as if all nature were filled with one mighty unending shriek."

    Related


    This work has been published in the Museum's Bulletin or Journal. These articles may or may not represent the most current scholarship.
  • Karpinski, Caroline "Munch and Lautrec." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 23, no. 3 (November, 1964). .
    JSTOR | PDF
  • Ives, Colta "French Prints in the Era of Impressionism and Symbolism." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 46, no. 1 (Summer, 1988).
    JSTOR | PDF | Supplemental PDFs
    • "Director" PDF
    • "Introduction" PDF
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    • The Scream, 1895
    Edvard Munch (Norwegian, 1863–1944)
    Lithograph; image: 14 1/16 x 9 5/16 in. (35.7 x 23.6 cm); sheet: 20 1/4 x 15 5/8 in. (51.4 x 39.7 cm)
    Bequest of Scofield Thayer, 1982 (1984.1203.1)

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