The Scream
The object
the blood-red bands of sky across the top of the painting
The story
In August 1883 the volcano Krakatoa erupted in Indonesia. Its ash entered the upper atmosphere and travelled around the planet; for nearly two years afterwards, sunsets across northern Europe blazed an extraordinary blood red. Munch was a teenager in Kristiania (modern Oslo) during those years. Walking home with two friends a decade later he wrote in his diary: "Suddenly the sky became blood." The figure on the bridge is not the screamer. The scream is in the sky. Now at National Museum of Norway, Oslo @nasjonalmuseet
The reel
The painting
