Munch's Silent Scream

Edvard Munch's the Scream is definitely one of the most recognized paintings. But do we really know it? What is the scream? Who's the skeleton-like character? Why do they look scared? Join me in analyzing this anxiety filled painting made by a troubled genius of the 19th and 20th century.

[untruelie]

I think there is another important element of context: The red sky was likely caused by the eruption of Mount Krakatoa (in modern day Indonesia), which occured in 1883. The vulcanic ash particles remained in the upper atmosphere for years, causing sunsets all over to the world to be particulary colourful. The eruption (or rather: explosion) of the vulcano was incredibly violent, equivalent to 130-200 Megatons of TNT (for comparison: The most powerful nuclear bomb of all time, the "Tsar Bomba", had a equivalent of 50 Megatons of TNT). The sound of the explosion could even be heard in Perth (Australia), over 3, 000 km away. More than 35, 000 people died as aresult of the explosion and the subsequent tsunamis. I don't know if Munch was aware of the cause of the sky's colour, but one could say that the "scream" he heard, was - in a metaphorcial sense - the scream of Krakatoa.

[Ziad]

The fact that toddler Munch decided to paint a medicine bottle at 12 is really telling. It is heartbreaking and makes all his works a lot more compelling.

[bjrn-oskarrnning]

Another point of context: they're not standing on a bridge, but on a sidewalk. This is the road down from Ekebergsletta to Oslo ("Ekebergskrenten" on Street View) and the water in the background is the Oslo fjord. If I recall correctly, there used to be a sanatorium located below it (the same one his sister was in) which might've been the source of the scream, if he heard one.

[julianwaters]

I knew about Munch's anxiety but i had no idea how present was in The Scream.
Excellent as always Uncle Canvas!

[tedsowards]

You have a great voice for this. Really enjoy the cut out effects at the beginning.

[thezonaiarchitect]

this painting scared the daylights out of me when I was little, I didn't even want it near me... my parents had to get rid of the painting so I'd feel safe in my playroom lmao

[Dahlia-kzoz]

This painting scared me so much as a child; it was in my art teacher's room, and I would avoid looking at it every single day. Once I even left class crying because of it and had to stay in another teacher's room. It's weird when I think back on it. I appreciate it much more now, as someone who loves art.

[s.g.]

That's such a beautiful and haunting description of a panic attack

[sebastianeklund]

This is soooo good. I love the content of this channel to the point of considering watching new videos a great treat! This is the perfect gateway into enjoying art, at least for me.

[aditisk]

This painting scared me the first time I saw it.

[ThomasSyre]

Thank you, i was waiting for a video on Munch, greatings from Norway🇳🇴

[humboldt]

I've always felt that there was something about this iconic (to the point of being "kitschy, " unfortunately) artwork, one I was "feeling" viscerally but not "grasping" intellectually. There is a dread-inducing nightmare logic to the composition, one which the conscious mind can just vaguely intuit but which the subconscious mind immediately grasps and recognizes. Munch himself is having a "panic attack" in the full sense of that phrase (i.e., one that involves a debilitating existential dread). I have felt this before but have never been able to describe the experience adequately. Maybe Munch chose the best route with this masteful work of Nordic Expressionism. Speaking of which, could there be a connection between the experience depicted and the "Germanic" or "Teutonic" cultural disposition toward the suppression (as opposed to healthy processing) of emotions?

[rhodahaque]

I've been digging through a lot of your old videos and absorbing everything. Wonderfully narrated and tastefully analysed. Still captivating even during revisits.

[shivamazon]

Edvard Munch's father
and sister died at a mental hospital in norway. His mother had died of tuberculosis.
When munch was done with this painting- The Scream
there was a lot of hysteria of discussions and debates. Norway had many rebels and even anarchists - Hans Jæger (The Anarchist's Diary) bohemians. There were very heated discussions. At a gathering, a medicine student Munch made it public - that he must be mentally ill because he had painted this picture. Edvard Munch was very upset and he wrote about it in his diaries. After brutally losing his mother to the disease tuberculosis and then father and sister who die in a mental hospital - one is a heartless human being who tears in the personal history of an artist. Edvard Munch isolated himself and yes some absinthe was drunk. He was intimidated and hurt by being used in gossip - for pleasure in medical student circles and among his own. This combination probably led to an admission in 1908.
After he then came out after treatment. he was stable for the rest of his enormously artistic life and was a sober man. And no! He did not suffer from a mental illness

[PeppermintPatties]

Something not mentioned in the video is its size.
I had long loved Munch's work when i was a kid, and recognised my own mental struggles in it. So when I was an exchange student in Oslo, one of the first things I did was to visit the Norwegian National Gallery to view this version of 'The Scream'.
What immediately struck me was its size. It's not that big. But because its emotionally and visually loud, I assumed the painting would be too. But it's not. It's just enormously arresting, and I still absolutely love its timelessness decades later. ❤️

[craigbrush]

I was lucky enough to see the Munch retrospective in Oslo in 2013 (?) One of the most astonishing exhibitions I've ever seen, and I've worked in the arts for 25 years!

[garvitsoni]

Been a regular visitor to your channel. Love your work. Thank you.

[noheroespublishing]

I love these videos, the main reason, because it shows how hollow "death of the author" theory bleaches the nature of a piece of art; removing culture, context, time, place, and person.

It's like reading Oscar Wilde and Alfred Douglas' work, yes, you can read them independently, but knowing their toxic romantic relationship makes reading them an entirely different experience; you see parallels and interplay in their works from the moment they meet, you can tell when their relationship started effecting their writing and in a permanent way, right up until their deaths.

[TheRatt]

I always found this painting to be disturbing in ways I could not figure out why and this video explaining the story, possible meaning of this painting make this painting even more disturbing.

[Adriel_HD]

That face when he thought she was feelin him