The Red Sky in The Scream
Edvard Munch wrote that he was walking at sunset when the sky turned blood red, and he felt an infinite scream passing through nature. What did he see?
What was reported
Edvard Munch painted The Scream in 1893, showing a figure on a road above the Oslo fjord, under a swirling red and orange sky. He described the moment in his diary: the sun was setting, the clouds turned 'like blood', and he stood trembling with anxiety.
Scientists and art historians have asked whether the sky was a real event he remembered.
Explanations offered
One idea is that he remembered the vivid red sunsets of 1883 and 1884, after the eruption of Krakatoa, which were seen across Norway. Another is nacreous, 'mother-of-pearl', clouds, which can glow in waves of colour over Oslo in winter. Many art historians think the sky simply shows his inner turmoil.
- When
- Painted in 1893
- Where
- Ekeberg, Oslo, Norway
- Witnesses
- The painter Edvard Munch
- Status
- Debated
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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