Edvard Munch's The Scream: Halloween Art Insight
Iconic for its capturing of fear, vivid colours, and striking sense of distorted chaos, Edvard Munch's The Scream is one of the most famous paintings in the world. Created in 1893, it originally forms part of a series titled 'The Frieze of Life', which spanned from 1893 until 1918, exploring existential aspects of life and reflecting Munch's interest in the darkest parts of the human condition.
Undated photo of Edvard Munch
By Nasjonalbiblioteket - Flickr: Portrett av Edvard Munch, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=153450948
The four key themes of 'The Frieze of Life' are:
- The Seeds of Love
- The Flowering and Passing of Love
- Anxiety and Death
- Life Anxiety
The Scream forms part of the 'Anxiety and Death' section of the series, and was inspired by Munch feeling an overwhelming sense of panic and despair while on a walk during sunset, which no doubt influenced the eventual hues colouring this famous work. Edvard Munch's diary describes hearing 'an infinite scream passing through nature', encapsulating his feelings and fears of existential dread.
This work is a key example of the artistic movement of Symbolism, in which artists would attempt to capture images which were able to evoke intense emotions and ideas through symbolic imagery rather than realistic representation of the world. As such, Munch employs exaggerated forms and features of a chaotic, swirling world, lending to the evocation of panic and hysteria. This work also became a precursor to the expressionist movement of the 20th century, which focused on emphasising individual interpretation of reality and the expression of the artist's feelings and emotional depth.
Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1895
These themes of existential dread and reflection on death perfectly align with momento mori, 'reminders of death', which have formed a great part of historical celebrations of Halloween, as you can read about in our overview of the history of halloween. As such, this iconic masterpiece is one of our favourite additions to our Halloween collection.