Fear And Edvard Munch Painting

Fear is defined as an unpleasant feeling of perceived risk or danger, real or not. Fear also can be described as a feeling of extreme dislike to some conditions or objects, such as: fear of darkness, fear of ghosts, etc.

The image is an artwork called "The Scream", originally titled "Der Schrei der Natur" translated to The Scream of Nature. It was painted by a Norwegian artist, Edvard Munch in 1893. This painting is believed to symbolize the human species taken by an attack of existential angst which practically means the fear that exist in a human-being. This painting expressed isolation and fear as its main theme.

You may ask why is this image so popular? What is it about this yelling figure that speaks to so many of us? Some say that The Scream reminds them of their humanity and let's them know that it's OK to "flip out" once in a while. Others who are more mysterious ask questions like "Who is screaming?" and "What is so frightening?" Many too, find the piece appealing due to the use of energetic line and complementary colours.

The reddish sky in the background was probably due to the powerful eruption of Krakatau in 1883. The ash ejected from the volcano turned the sky red in the eastern United States and most of Europe and Asia for nearly a year.

The main object in the foreground is quite strange looking expressing the peculiarity in the artwork, however it is assumed to be the artist himself who is in fact showing anguish in his scream, and he is protecting himself or itself from the "scream of Nature". This is supported by an extract from his diary, describing the inspiration for this artwork.

"I was walking along a path with two friends--the sun was setting--suddenly the sky turned blood red--I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence--there was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city--my friends walked on,