The public recognizes the 1893 version of the Scream painting, which was created on cardboard using crayon and tempera. Munch had The Scream in four different iterations, and both of his earlier renditions, created in 1893, are presently located in Oslo, Norway (Prideaux, 2019). The National Gallery has the tempera version, whereas the Munch Museum has the pastel version. A pencil inscription that says “Kan kun vaere malet af en gal Mand!” is also barely legible on the 1893 artwork (Prideaux, 2019, p. 69). It reads, “could only have been painted by a madman” (Prideaux, 2019, p. 70). The pastel rendition could have served as a first painting sketch. That figure was probably created to symbolize an internal state that Munch felt. This is not much his external appearance of how he looked on the bridge with his friends behind him. In other words, Munch becomes a personification of anxiety or despair.
Edvard Munch’s primary character is shown in the forefront of The Scream, standing with their hands cupped to the side of their faces and their mouths open in either panic or amazement. In The Scream, Munch again emphasizes his interior condition rather than the surroundings by using a strong sense of line and swirling brushstrokes. Using such straight brushstrokes emphasizes the painting’s linearity while also creating a swirl of color throughout the composition. Curves and straight lines. This can be seen in the contrast between the straight lines from the bridge and the two figures walking away in the background. It is an integral part of the curvilinear solid lines from the foreground figure and most of the composition on the right.
The figure’s body in the foreground does not appear the same as the figures behind it. It does not have an exact resemblance to a human body – it almost seems more like a wand on the bridge. This is visible in the manner Munch portrayed its lower torso; the audience would expect to see two legs, but here it seems like one shape unless the figure is wearing a robe that covers its legs.
Reference
Prideaux, S. (2019). Edvard Munch: Behind the Scream (New). Yale University Press.