Edvard Munch and His Work ‘the Scream’

A masterpiece is an outstanding portrait, movie, literature or other work of art. I masterpieces is a work that encapsulates everything an author or a painter us trying to achieve. Its something that is exceptional in its quality. The Scream is considered one of Edvard Munch greatest work in his career or. ‘The Scream” is one of the world’s most identifiable works of art. A masterpiece doesn’t always have to be pretty as long as it evokes a memory, thought or an idea to the person viewing this masterpiece

Edvard Munch is viewed as the pioneer of the Expressionist movement in modern painting. Munch used his artistic ability to express his feelings about the social changes that was happening around him. His mother died when he was only five years old, his older sister died of a disease at the age of fifteen, and Edvard himself was often sick. One of his youngest sisters was also diagnosed with a mental illness at an early age. With death and illness as a major element in his childhood, painting and drawing was a way of expressing himself.

Munch had an astonishing ability to convey a profound and raw emotion onto a canvas which brought him negative criticism from the press and his father. Although many of his painting may not be considered beautiful I considered them as masterpieces because you can see his emotions in his paintings. Many of his paintings like The Scream seem to convey a message. Edvard Munch was somewhat of a rebel. His nonconforming approach to art eventually lead him to become one of the worlds most famous artist. Many of paintings can go for millions of dollars

Edvard Munch is best known for his work ‘The Scream’ sometimes also referred to as “The Cry”. This painting depicts a strange character holding their face and eyes and mouth wide open screaming in fear on a bridge while there are two individuals walking behind him in the opposite direction. The two individuals seem unbothered or unaware of the screaming figure behind them. Which leads me to believe that the screaming character is going through an internal conflict and is under duress. According to Munch the inspiration for “The Scream” was very autobiographical. A bulk of Munch’s work was created in the style known as symbolism. The Scream is considered a masterpiece in my opinion because it reflects this, and you can clearly see Edvard Munch’s emotions in this painting. He was the definition of a tortured soul.

Munch suffered from panic attacks and anxiety. A panic attack is a sudden surge of overwhelming anxiety and fear. Anxiety is a main factor in Munch’s art, so it was not surprising the mood of this painting is so haunting. Although Munch uses analogous colors like reds and oranges, yellow and greens, the picture is very muddy looking, and you get a feeling of gloom and doom. Analogous are colors that lay next to each other on the color wheel. When Analogous colors are used they are typically soothing to the eye. The dense brush strokes of oil paint give the effect of a movement blur, like the world was whirling around the figure. It is hard to differentiate between the water and the land. Munch uses atmospheric perspective to create the illusion of depth in art especially painting. Atmospheric perspective refers to the technique of making an illusion of depth by portraying distant objects as lighter, less detailed, and usually blurrier than nearby objects. The Scream was a fascinating piece and Munch himself was an extraordinary artist and thinker of his time.

Works Cited

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