Written by Arin Lee
Edited by Benjamin Hewitt
Unbeknownst to many, Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” is more than just a picture with deep oranges and sweeping blues. It is a visual representation of the deep-rooted anxiety Munch was said to have experienced in his own existence: “For as long as I can remember I have suffered from a deep feeling of anxiety, which I have tried to express in my art. Without anxiety and illness, I should have been like a ship without a rudder.” Munch credited a large portion of his artistic genius to his mental health struggles, using art as a form of expression amidst his darkest battles. In fact, “The Scream” came about as an artistic manifestation of an extreme bout of anxiety he experienced prior to being hospitalized in 1908 (Fusar-Poli et al., 2017).
Munch was an innovator in the era of expressionism, drawing from his own emotions and grief to create art that speaks volumes on mental health issues that remain relevant even today. Upon being discharged from hospitalization, Munch actually went on to abandon his previous life of chronic alcoholism and continued to bring his artistic visions to life while accepting sobriety (Fusar-Poli et al. 2017). Munch is proof that living with a mental health condition like anxiety doesn’t define a person’s capabilities and can even inspire their talents, as evidenced by his influence in the visceral expression of human emotion through art.
References:
Fusar-Poli, L., Brondino, N., Rocchetti, M., & Politi, P. (2017, April 1). Edvard Munch, 1863– 1944. American Journal of Psychiatry. https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.16121333#:~:text=Painted%20in%201893%20by%20the,of%20our%20time%20(2).
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