TürkçeDO YOU KNOW THE STORY BEHIND THIS FAMOUS PAINTING?
I am sure you have all seen this painting. Perhaps while browsing the internet, perhaps while choosing a puzzle in a bookstore…
You all know the name of this painting. The number of people who know who painted it may be slightly smaller, but everyone knows the image… The Scream, or Skrik in its original name, is an 1893 work created by the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch. This work is one of the most productive, innovative, and influential figures of modern art. According to many critics, it is Munch’s most important work.
When Munch died in 1944 at the age of 80, authorities discovered an enormous collection consisting of 1,008 paintings, 4,443 drawings, and 15,391 prints, as well as engravings, lithographs, and photographs. Why do most people know only this painting among so many works?
The Scream is a distorted, genderless figure whose mouth and eyes are open in a scream of terror. The sky and water swirl in the background, while two other people slowly disappear into the distance.
CAN YOU FEEL LIKE EDVARD MUNCH?
The brushstrokes and colors Munch used in his works generally reflect his own state of mind. His works are characterized by figures in which feelings of despair and suffering are clearly evident. Munch’s ability to convey increasing tension, anxiety, and uncertainty is actually connected to the spirit of our modern age. Munch believed that a painter should not merely depict scenes from everyday reality; according to him, art should communicate emotional feeling.
The Scream is a work referring to an experience Munch had one evening. Munch later explained the source of inspiration for this painting as follows:
“I was walking along the road with two friends when the sun set; suddenly the sky turned blood red. Feeling exhausted, I stopped and leaned against the railing; there were blood and tongues of fire above the dark blue fjord and the city, my friends continued walking, and I remained there trembling with fear. Then I heard the enormous, infinite scream of nature.” – Munch
According to art historians, the fear and horror in the figure’s ominous state are reflected through the repeated wavy shapes in the composition. The ambiguity of the main figure and the two people walking along the bridge in the background is associated with a sense of danger of uncertain origin. The swirling lines emphasize an unnatural and powerful feeling of anxiety. It is believed that Munch emphasized this sense of anxiety through the use of intense colors.
EXPRESSIONISM
Munch was a pioneer of expressionism. It was a moment in art history when artists were no longer concerned with the technical skill of realism and instead wanted to communicate their inner thoughts, feelings, and emotions. They achieved this by using bright, exaggerated colors and simple forms.
Born in Löten, Norway, in 1863, Munch had a troubled childhood. His mother died of tuberculosis when he was five years old, and his sister followed her when he was fifteen. Because of his constant illnesses, he began to experience a fear of death and developed anxiety. Art became a refuge that he used to overcome his emotional trauma. His personal tragedies, illnesses, and failures nourished his creative work.
“My fear of life is necessary to me… My suffering is a part of myself and my art.” – Munch
THE LANGUAGE OF EMOTIONAL CONNECTION
Did Munch literally hear a scream around him, or was this experience something beyond his own mental distress?
“I felt a great scream – I actually heard a great scream – the colors of nature broke apart – the lines of nature – lines and colors – trembled in motion – These oscillations of light did not only make my eyes tremble – they also set my ears vibrating – so I truly heard a scream – and then I painted The Scream.” – Munch
This work is a radical and timeless expression of human fear and anxiety that is universal in meaning. The uncertainty of the subject’s gender helps strengthen our collective connection with the work.
We are all afraid. Especially because of what we have experienced recently and the uncertainties surrounding us, we have begun to identify more strongly with Munch’s scream. This work has now become a symbol for all of us. While looking at the painting in such a state of mind, I suddenly noticed how he described the birth of the painting. Call it selective perception, say that you are overwhelmed, say that you love your work too much…
What Munch said while expressing himself and the nature of the painting made me think as though he had experienced a vestibular attack… “I felt a great scream – I actually heard a great scream – the lines of nature – lines and colors – trembled in motion – These oscillations of light did not only make my eyes tremble – they also set my ears vibrating –
It was as if that moment of crisis he experienced, the clues he gave, his tinnitus, his vertigo, his exhaustion, his need to hold on, and even the trauma deep enough to leave behind an immortal work… Perhaps that was truly the case. Who knows…
Dr. Audiologist Emel Uğur was born in 1982 in Çanakkale. She specialized in Pediatric Audiology, Otologic Disorders, and Vestibular System Disorders, and served for 15 years at the Istanbul Training and Research Hospital. In 2015, she joined the Acıbadem Healthcare Group. She currently works as an Audiologist at the Acıbadem Altunizade Hospital and also serves as a faculty member and program director in the Acıbadem University Vocational School of Health Services Audiometry Program.
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