The Scream Re-Write

     The Scream is an extremely well-known painting by the late nineteenth and early twentieth century impressionist artist Edvard Munch, a popular Norwegian painter and printmaker.
     Munch was greatly influenced by the era of German Expressionism (early twentieth century), which was why he used psychological themes to base many of his paintings on. The viewer can see this influence in The Scream and can tell that the purpose of this painting was to convey the human emotions of anguish and melancholy. This can be shown in the face that is contorted by the scream. I think the author is able to convey his purpose because the viewer can see the obvious pain in the main subject's pale, genderless face. This face has a huge impact on the viewer, and the first time I saw it, my eye was immediately drawn to it, and the person in the foreground keeps the viewer from being lost in the scenery background.
     Surprisingly, visual rhetoric can be just as strong as rhetoric used in writing and speeches.One particular rhetorical device that stood out to me was the painting's use of opposites. This can be seen in the use of hot colors in the sky, such as the reds, yellows, and oranges, and how they strongly contrast with the cool colors, the greens, and blues, and purples, of the water. Munch used this to create tension in the painting, seeing as the subject is standing by a quite chaotic environment.
     Most artists do not paint for an audience, but rather for themselves. It is believed that Munch suffered from depression, so it is possible that he used the painting as an emotional outlet. However, part of what makes this painting such a classic is that most viewers find this painting to be an appropriate and accurate representation of a feeling that we have felt at one time or another in our lives. The Scream is highly referenced in pop culture. For example, in the scary movie saga Scream, the masked murderer has a mask greatly resembling that of the contorted face.
     The Scream is part of a larger collection by Edvard Munch called The Frieze of Life. The inspiration for this masterpiece came from the mental institution where his sister was kept, and it is said that you could actually hear the screams of the mental patients from the institution. Scary stuff.