The Scream: Great Art Explained

Alternatively, every video has a "thanks" button under it- I appreciate it!

With "Great Art Explained" my aim is to make videos which focus on one great artwork. I want to present art in a jargon-free, entertaining, clear and concise way with no gimmicks.

Between 1863 when Munch was born and the years before the first world war, European cities were going through unprecedented change. Industrialization and economic change brought anxieties and obsessions, political unrest, and radicalism.

Questions about society and the changing role of man within it, about our psyche, our social responsibilities, and most radical of all, questions about the existence of God.

This is a period of Sigmund Freud, Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx and Friedrich Nietzche.

This is also the period that Munch painted The Scream.

I would like to thank all my Patreon supporters, in particular Alan Stewart, Alexander Velser, David Abreu, Christa Sawyer, Griffin Evans, Jennifer Barnaby, Kibbi Shaw, Nicholas Siebenlist, Paul Ark, Paul Waterman, Theresa Garfink, Toni Ko, and Tyler Wittreich.

"What a brilliant series this is" - Stephen Fry on Twitter 12 December 2020

CREDITS

Chinese Subtitles by Charles Xue
Spanish Subtitles by Lourdes Saez
French Subtitles by Ludivine Desriac
Dutch Subtitles by Bart Vergouwe

All the videos, songs, images, and graphics used in the video belong to their respective owners and I or this channel does not claim any right over them.

TV and FILMS

BOOKS
Edvard Munch (World of Art) by Josef Paul Hodin
Edvard Munch: Behind the Scream by Sue Prideaux
Edvard Munch: love and angst by Karl Ove Knausgaard and Giulia Bartrum
Edvard Munch Masterpieces of Art by Candice Russell

Music:
Edvard Grieg - In The Hall Of Mountain King
"Theme" music: JS Bach “Sonata for violin solo No.1 in G Minor”

Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

[Serai]

Important detail about the location: that bridge near Ekeberg was known as a suicide bridge.

[palosnes]

One of the guys who stole the scream in the 90s (Pål Enger) was a soccerplayer that became so obsessed with the painting that he had to have it. Later when he was caught he became an artist in prison and now has his own artistic career.

One of his exhibitions was coshared with another famous norwegian artist Pushwagner (some call him a modern Munch) and on that exhibition he stole some of Pushwagners paintings.

[nottodayisay]

Hope you get to read this: James, I watched this video a year ago, I remembered being in awe thinking how much I had misinterpreted this masterpiece and feeling a great deal of empathy for Munch. Now, I am in the National Museum in Oslo, sitting in front of The Scream while revisiting this video. It’s like a full circle, the emotions that accompanied are hard to put into words (English is not my native language), but ‘grateful’ is definitely one that I’m feeling.
I truly appreciate your work here and how well articulated your explanations are. Hope you know the impact you have on thousands of us who support you ❤❤

[monicab]

This painting has always triggered an uneasy feeling within me that I can’t quite explain. Very ominous; haunting. Thanks for covering it!

[kleerude]

I had a classmate who did most of his paintings on cardboard, and I remember our teacher telling him that he would never be a real artist because real artists don’t use cardboard. I was so mad when, years later, I learned that “The Scream” was painted on cardboard. (That same classmate got into RISD, btw 😄)

[luisaguilar]

That ending! cheeky bastard, didn’t even notice the cacophony of music that had been building all throughout the video and then I thought it was over because of an error in editing when it went all quiet… brilliant way to bring the point home. I can’t say I understood people’s connection to the painting to be honest, I have been subject to angst and dread all my life but the figures and the style feels so disconcerting (even for sometime who feels at home with Magritte paintings) that I never felt like I could extract any meaning without this explanation. Without the excerpt from his diary about nature screaming and the world collapsing at the background I never would have guessed that was even happening. Even still Munch feels like a true forerunner of Van Gogh and the post impressionists, and some of his other paintings are part of the most striking body of work I have ever seen. Thank you

[pac]

Such a powerful painting, still relevant today as our lives have not slowed down but sped up instead, where noise, information, and various stimuli constantly assault us. In the uncertain times we live in (war, climate crisis, mass extinction), this piece has never been more relevant. Anyone struggling with mental health can easily relate to Munch's art. Thank you James for your insights. I've never realised how such a small detail as the men in the background affected the painting. By blocking the vanishing point (literally in French the runaway/escaping point), they trap us in the painting and in the foreground character's agony.

[tooruoikawa]

Before I watch the video I always re-examine the artwork and take my time enjoying it before I’m schooled. Thank you so much for opening the window for me.

[eteixeira]

Your narration has always been great, but the editing on this episode is top-notch. Great job!

[ayanna]

One of my favorite paintings ever. As someone who struggles with anxiety, hearing Munch describing this "scream through nature" is so fascinating. Sometimes anxiety can feel like a scream I have yet to release, and can't and sometimes it feels as if the reality around me is screaming at me. That warped and murky-colored feeling is also present, as sometimes anxiety can suck all of the color out of life, minus the ones that bring you bad moods or fear. I really do love this channel, you really do a great of "demystifying" art. Growing up, these artists and pieces of work were placed on such high pedestals and their talent was so great that I never even thought I could "understand" them, but your videos have been so great in humanizing these artists and their works. They were, at the end of the day, people who had very similar struggles to us all.

[jl]

This channel is so far off from my normal viewing, but it’s just so good. Listening to people deeply engaged in their subject is always interesting!

[microchiroptera]

The fact that it‘s not the figure screaming but nature around it, makes it even better

[MariaVosa]

Excellent use of Grieg's music to accompany Munch's work.
I really appreciate seeing some of the contemporary woks that could have inspired him. Also brings home how unique and singular Munch was, transforming it into something wholly his own.

[Nozes..]

Amazing work, acessible to non-art educated like myself, but fully informative and entertaining.
Thank you.

[alexandermuller]

The baroque paintings are the most beautiful paintings in Europe in my pov. But being an artist I love all types of paintings. Each and every paintings has their own unique meaning and beauty. 💖

[bigbeefy]

something about Munch’s art and the lack of everything needing to be pristine and perfect just feels so authentic to me.

[Alisonsgachaverse]

A video about my favorite painting with my favorite song in the background, truly extraordinary

[jameslippincott]

Thank you for making such incredible art so accessible. I showed your video on Monet to my family and they were in rapture! I love all the research that goes into doing what you clearly love, please continue.

[riggers]

One of the most iconic masterpieces of all time finally covered by my favourite channel! There was so much more to ol’ Ed Munch but this is undoubtedly his most famous piece. Thank you 🙏

[ettajfan]

The rich history of art explained so beautifully. Thank you!