The Scream

The Scream (1893) by Edward Munch

When looking at the famous "The Scream", I am automatically reminded by Home Alone's, Macaulay Culkin signature face. Though a wave of nostalgia hit me when I put my eyes on this painting, there is more history to this painting that I am just discovering. First, it is today’s highest sold piece of art; selling for a record $120 million dollars at auction by an unnamed telephone bidder (Harris, 2012). Second, it has been the target of various art thefts.

The Expressionist artist, Edward Munch, "is one of the handful of artist who have shaped our understanding of human experience and transformed the ways in which it might be visually expressed." His way of expressing emotion such as anxiety or loneliness, shows amazingly through this painting. The way I feel when looking at the painting is claustrophobia surrounding me, I imagine myself sweating in confusion, my head pumping with blood, as I freak out at every little thing. (Moma) He himself had the same feeling, which is the influence toward this art.

“I was walking along the road with two friends – the sun was setting – 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 infinite scream passing through nature.”       -Edward Munch

It inspired the famous 1981 slasher film, Scream. With that creepy mask, comparable to the face in the painting, it gives me goose bumps just thinking about it.

 

"Edvard Munch." The Scream, 1893 by. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2013.

Harris, Paul. "The Scream Sells for Record $120m at Auction." The Guardian. 

Guardian News and Media, 02 May 2012. Web. 09 Feb. 2013.

Moma. "EXHIBITIONS: The Scream." MoMA. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2013.