Edward Munch's Painting, The Scream

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Edward Munch painted "The Scream" in 1893. The scene for Munch's painting is actually based on a real location- the city and surrounding area of Oslo, Norway. The specific location is near a madhouse, where Munch's mentally insane sister was kept. Historians speculate that Munch was inspired by the screams from dying animals at a nearby slaughterhouse to paint "The Scream". However, in Munch's personal diary, he wrote that he was inspired by a memory of when he was taking a walk with two friends. On his walk, he became tired and stopped to rest and let out a scream. Edward Munch appeared to have painted this painting as a way to express his feelings.
Edward Munch painted "The Scream". Munch's early life was hard- his mother anbd sister died …show more content…

The majority of the painting is painted by using curved brush strokes. The bridge and the two persons of the bridge are painted using straight, linear strokes. Meanwhile, the sexless figure in the foreground of the painting, is painted using the same brush strokes as the background. Munch painted the figure(a symbol of himself) the same as the background to symbolize his wish to be linked with nature. According to his diaries, he was walking with two friends when he stopped and "felt a vast infinite scream [tear] through nature". These specific design choices help the speaker understand how Munch wanted to blend with nature. He seemed to want to disappear into the background and cease to exist. The face shape of the screaming figure is also in the shape of a skull. This represents Munch's fear of death, but it also may have represented that though he feared death, he wanted to die. When the audience looks at the painting, we are drawn to the fact that the screaming figure appears to be all alone. The two other figures on the bridge are walking away with their backs turned. We wonder why they are leaving him, he is screaming so loudly. Perhaps he felt invisible, like nobody cared. That is often how most of us feel. We work hard, we try to make a difference, and in the end, it goes unnoticed. We're just one of many other invisible

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