Edvard Munch: The Scream Has Four Versions, the Sky Was Real, the Inscription Was His, and He Lived to 80

Last updated: May 2026 · By Stanislav Arnautov · Berlin

Edvard Munch (12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was born in Løten, Norway, the son of a military doctor. He is the defining figure of Expressionism in painting and the artist who created the most widely reproduced image of psychological overwhelming in Western art history. He documented the experience that became The Scream in his diary on 22 January 1892; he painted it four times; the Krakatoa eruption’s atmospheric afterglow was confirmed as the real sky of the event in 2004; the most expensive version sold for $119.9 million at Sotheby’s in 2012; and Munch himself lived to 80, working until the end. External references: Nasjonalmuseet Oslo — The Scream; Munch Museum Oslo. DeckArts Berlin from ~$140. View The Scream at DeckArts →

Munch’s Biography: Norway, the Frieze of Life, the Nervous Breakdown

Edvard Munch was born on 12 December 1863 in Løten in inland Norway. His mother died of tuberculosis when he was five; his sister Sophie died of tuberculosis when he was fourteen. The specific biographical weight of childhood loss in Munch’s mature work is documented in his own writings: he explicitly connected his experience of death and illness in childhood with the specific psychological condition that he described as the foundation of his art. He studied at the Royal School of Art and Design in Christiania (now Oslo) in the 1880s and came to artistic maturity in the context of the Norwegian realist tradition before developing in a direction that was increasingly Expressionist in visual language.

Munch’s most significant artistic programme is the Frieze of Life — a series of thematically grouped paintings that he developed from the late 1880s onward and which he described as “a poem about life, love, and death.” The Frieze is organised into four sections: Awakening of Love, Blossoming and Dissolution of Love, Fear of Life, and Death. The Scream belongs to the Fear of Life section. Munch’s stated intention for the Frieze was to create a comprehensive visual programme for the full range of human emotional experience from erotic love through anxiety to death — a project that has no precise equivalent in the history of modern painting except perhaps Goya’s Black Paintings (in their biographical directness) and the German Expressionist tradition that Munch’s work directly inspired.

The nervous breakdown: in 1908, Munch voluntarily entered a private clinic in Copenhagen under the care of Dr. Daniel Jacobson for treatment for what he described as a nervous breakdown. He spent approximately eight months in treatment. On emerging, his work became calmer in tone; the specific psychological intensity of the Frieze of Life period (1885–1908) was not repeated. He returned to Norway in 1909 and spent the last 35 years of his life in increasing social isolation but continuing productivity. He died on 23 January 1944, aged 80, in his house at Ekely near Oslo — one month after the German occupation of Norway had confiscated much of his work as “entartete Kunst” (degenerate art). As The Guardian’s Munch coverage documents, his reputation has grown consistently since his death; the 2022 opening of the new Munch Museum in Oslo confirmed his position as one of the most significant painters of the 19th–20th century transition.

The Scream: Four Versions, the Diary Entry

The Scream (Skrik) exists in four versions by Munch:

• Version 1 (1893): Casein paint on cardboard, 91 × 73.5 cm. Nasjonalmuseet Oslo (the most reproduced version).
• Version 2 (1893): Pastel on cardboard, 79 × 59 cm. Munch Museum Oslo.
• Version 3 (c.1895): Pastel on cardboard. Private collection (formerly Leon Black’s; sold at Sotheby’s May 2012 for $119.9 million).
• Version 4 (1910): Tempera on cardboard. Munch Museum Oslo.

The diary entry: on 22 January 1892, Munch wrote in his diary: “I was walking along the road with 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, and I stood there trembling with anxiety — and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature.” This entry is the specific biographical source for the painting: the experience was real, the location was the road at Ekeberg above Christiania (now Oslo), and the sky’s specific colour (“blood red,” “blood and tongues of fire”) is the element that was confirmed as real by atmospheric scientists in 2004.

The Krakatoa Sky: Real, Confirmed in 2004

The volcanic eruption of Krakatoa (Krakatau) in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra on 26–27 August 1883 was one of the most violent geological events in recorded history. The eruption ejected approximately 21 cubic kilometres of rock and volcanic material into the atmosphere, creating an ash and aerosol cloud that circled the Earth multiple times in the following months. The specific atmospheric effect of this volcanic dust cloud: it scattered sunlight at sunset and sunrise in a way that created vivid, abnormally saturated red and orange skies across the Northern Hemisphere in the winter of 1883–1884 and into 1884–1885.

The scientific confirmation: in 2004, the physicists Richard Hamblyn and Petter Døssland Brekke published a paper proposing that the blood-red sky described in Munch’s diary entry of January 1892 was a documented atmospheric phenomenon caused by the lingering Krakatoa dust in the upper atmosphere over Christiania (Oslo) in the winter of 1891–1892. The specific meteorological records for Christiania in January 1892 include documented unusual sunsets consistent with the Krakatoa atmospheric scattering effect. The sky in The Scream is not a metaphor, not an expressionistic distortion, not a psychological projection: it was the real sky above the real road at Ekeberg on a real January evening in 1892. Munch wrote it down. See: Nasjonalmuseet Oslo documentation.

The Hidden Inscription: Confirmed by Infrared 2021

The Nasjonalmuseet’s Version 1 of The Scream contains a handwritten inscription in pencil in the upper left corner: “Can only have been painted by a madman.” The inscription was known to exist but its authorship was disputed for many years — some scholars attributed it to a critic or visitor who had written on the painting. In 2021, infrared reflectography analysis by the Nasjonalmuseet confirmed that the inscription’s handwriting matches Munch’s documented handwriting in his diaries and letters. Munch wrote the inscription himself, on his own painting.

The specific biographical argument: Munch wrote on his own painting, in pencil in the corner, that only a madman could have painted it. The most specific act of self-annotation in the history of modern painting: the artist’s own assessment of his own work, written on the work’s surface. See: The Guardian’s coverage of the 2021 infrared confirmation.

$119.9 Million: The 2012 Auction

On 2 May 2012, the Version 3 pastel of The Scream (c.1895, from the collection of Leon Black) was sold at Sotheby’s New York for $119,922,500 — at the time the highest price ever achieved at auction for any work of art. The buyer was not publicly identified. The sale’s biographical significance: the most widely reproduced image of psychological overwhelming in Western art history was also, at the moment of the 2012 auction, the most monetarily valuable work of art ever sold at public auction. The two facts coexist in the same object: the subjective psychological experience (the infinite scream passing through nature, the trembling anxiety at Ekeberg) and the objective market value (the highest auction price in history).

Munch Survived: He Lived to 80

The most specific and most underappreciated biographical fact about Munch relative to his most celebrated work: he lived to 80. The Scream’s overwhelming psychological experience — the trembling, the blood-red sky, the infinite scream — is not the end of the story. Munch documented it in January 1892; he painted it four times across 18 years (1893–1910); he had a nervous breakdown in 1908 and voluntarily entered treatment; he emerged, returned to Norway, continued working, and died in January 1944 aged 80, having produced approximately 1,800 paintings and 10,000 prints and drawings across his career.

The domestic biographical argument for The Scream: the overwhelming is real (the Krakatoa sky is the real sky), documented (the diary entry of January 22, 1892), survived (Munch to 80), and artistically productive (four versions, $119.9M auction, the most reproduced image of psychological experience in Western art history). The Scream is not an image of defeat; it is a documentation of an overwhelming that was survived and transformed into art. This is the most specific biographical argument for The Scream as a domestic art object in the bedroom, the home office, or the living room of a person whose daily life includes the specific experience of feeling overwhelmed.

The Scream on a Skateboard Deck

The DeckArts Edvard Munch The Scream single deck (~$140) presents the central composition: the figure with the distorted face and open mouth on the bridge, the swirling orange-red sky above the blue-black fjord, the two figures walking away in the background. The blood-red and orange sky tones are the composition’s dominant warm chromatic event.

On warm white under 2700K warm LED: The blood-red and orange sky tones advance as the room’s primary warm chromatic event from the neutral warm white ground. The most restrained Scream installation: the sky as a warm chromatic event on a neutral field, the composition’s psychological intensity communicated through the warm-cool contrast of the orange-red sky and the blue-black fjord.

On warm charcoal under 2700K: The most dramatically intense installation. The warm charcoal wall’s neutral dark creates a continuous dark field with the composition’s blue-black fjord and dark bridge; the orange-red sky advances from the combined dark as the composition’s sole warm event. The most specifically confrontational Scream installation.

Munch The Scream — Single Deck (~$140)

Four versions · Krakatoa sky confirmed 2004 · hidden inscription confirmed infrared 2021 · $119.9M Sotheby’s 2012 · Munch lived to 80 · UV archival 100+ years · Canadian maple

View product →

Room-by-Room Installation Guide

Living room secondary accent or primary (warm white or warm charcoal): Single deck (~$140) on warm white or warm charcoal at 155–165 cm centre. The overwhelming that was survived: the Krakatoa sky in the room where the daily domestic life happens. The most specifically emotionally honest primary living room statement. See: Best Wall Art for a Living Room 2026.

Psychologist or therapist’s home office: Single deck (~$140) on warm white at 125–145 cm facing the desk. The most professionally specific classical art for a therapeutic or psychological practice: the overwhelming is real (confirmed by atmospheric science), survivable (Munch to 80), and documented (diary entry January 22, 1892). Not the image of the overwhelming as defeat, but as documentation. See: Wall Art for a Home Office by Profession.

Dark academia room secondary (after Night Watch or Wanderer primary): Single deck (~$140) on warm charcoal as a secondary element in a dark academia programme: Night Watch (civic collective, warm tenebrism) or Wanderer (contemplative recovery) as primary + The Scream as secondary. The overwhelming as the programme’s acknowledgement that the dark and the overwhelming are real — and survived.

FAQ

Is the sky in The Scream real?

Yes. The blood-red sky that Munch described in his diary on 22 January 1892 (“suddenly the sky turned blood red”) was confirmed in 2004 by physicists Richard Hamblyn and Petter Døssland Brekke as a documented atmospheric phenomenon caused by the lingering volcanic dust from the 1883 Krakatoa eruption, which created vivid abnormally saturated red and orange sunsets across the Northern Hemisphere in 1883–1885. Meteorological records for Christiania (now Oslo) in January 1892 document unusual sunsets consistent with the Krakatoa scattering effect. The sky in The Scream is not a metaphor; it was the real sky above the real road at Ekeberg. Nasjonalmuseet Oslo. DeckArts from ~$140.

How many versions of The Scream are there?

Four: Version 1 (1893, casein on cardboard, Nasjonalmuseet Oslo, most reproduced); Version 2 (1893, pastel, Munch Museum Oslo); Version 3 (c.1895, pastel, formerly Leon Black’s collection, sold Sotheby’s May 2012 for $119,922,500); Version 4 (1910, tempera, Munch Museum Oslo). Munch documented the original experience in his diary on 22 January 1892 and painted it four times across 18 years (1893–1910). Munch Museum Oslo. DeckArts from ~$140.

What did Munch write on The Scream?

“Can only have been painted by a madman.” In pencil in the upper left corner of Version 1 (Nasjonalmuseet Oslo). The inscription’s authorship was disputed until 2021, when infrared reflectography by the Nasjonalmuseet confirmed that the handwriting matches Munch’s own documented handwriting. Munch wrote the inscription himself, on his own painting. The Guardian, February 2021. DeckArts from ~$140.

Related Guides

• Munch The Scream: Complete Art History Guide
• Wall Art for a Teenager’s Room 2026
• Wall Art for a Home Office by Profession
• Classical Art vs Abstract Art: Biographical Depth
• Friedrich: The Kantian Recovery

Article Summary

Munch biography wall art: Edvard Munch born 12 December 1863 Løten Norway (military doctor’s son; mother died tuberculosis age 5; sister Sophie died tuberculosis age 14; childhood loss explicitly connected in own writings to psychological condition foundational to his art); studied Royal School of Art and Design Christiania 1880s; Frieze of Life programme (thematically grouped paintings late 1880s onward; “poem about life love and death”; four sections: Awakening of Love/Blossoming and Dissolution of Love/Fear of Life/Death; Scream = Fear of Life section; comprehensive visual programme for full range human emotional experience from erotic love through anxiety to death; no precise equivalent except Goya’s Black Paintings in biographical directness + German Expressionism that Munch directly inspired); 1908 nervous breakdown (voluntary entry private clinic Copenhagen under Dr. Daniel Jacobson; ~8 months treatment; emerged = calmer tone in later work; returned Norway 1909; last 35 years increasing social isolation but continuing productivity); died 23 January 1944 aged 80 Ekely house near Oslo (one month after German occupation confiscated much of his work as “entartete Kunst” degenerate art); Guardian Munch coverage; 2022 new Munch Museum Oslo opening. The Scream: Skrik, four versions (V1 1893 casein on cardboard 91×73.5 cm Nasjonalmuseet Oslo = most reproduced; V2 1893 pastel 79×59 cm Munch Museum Oslo; V3 c.1895 pastel private collection formerly Leon Black = sold Sotheby’s May 2012 $119,922,500; V4 1910 tempera Munch Museum Oslo); diary entry 22 January 1892 (“I was walking along the road with friends — the sun was setting — suddenly the sky turned blood red — I paused feeling exhausted leaned on the fence — there was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city — my friends walked on and I stood there trembling with anxiety — and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature”; location: road at Ekeberg above Christiania = now Oslo; sky colour “blood red/blood and tongues of fire” = confirmed real by atmospheric scientists 2004). Krakatoa sky: Krakatoa eruption 26–27 August 1883 Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra (most violent geological event in recorded history; ~21 cubic km rock + volcanic material ejected; ash + aerosol cloud circled Earth multiple times; specific atmospheric effect: scattered sunlight at sunset/sunrise creating vivid abnormally saturated red + orange skies across Northern Hemisphere winter 1883–1884 and into 1884–1885); 2004 confirmation: physicists Richard Hamblyn + Petter Døssland Brekke paper (Krakatoa dust in upper atmosphere over Christiania Oslo winter 1891–1892; meteorological records for Christiania January 1892 = documented unusual sunsets consistent with Krakatoa atmospheric scattering effect; sky in The Scream = NOT metaphor/expressionistic distortion/psychological projection = real sky above real road at Ekeberg on real January evening 1892). Hidden inscription 2021: “Can only have been painted by a madman” in pencil upper left corner Version 1 Nasjonalmuseet Oslo; authorship disputed for many years (attribution to critic or visitor); 2021 Nasjonalmuseet infrared reflectography = confirmed handwriting matches Munch’s own documented handwriting in diaries + letters; Munch wrote inscription himself on his own painting; most specific act of self-annotation in history of modern painting; Guardian February 2021 coverage. $119.9M auction: 2 May 2012 Sotheby’s New York, Version 3 pastel from Leon Black collection, $119,922,500 = highest price ever achieved at auction for any work of art at the time; buyer not publicly identified; coexistence of subjective psychological experience (infinite scream/trembling anxiety at Ekeberg) and objective market value (highest auction price in history) in same object. Munch survived to 80: most underappreciated biographical fact; Scream documented January 1892; painted four times 1893–1910; nervous breakdown 1908; voluntary treatment; emerged + returned to Norway + continued working; died January 1944 aged 80; produced ~1,800 paintings + 10,000 prints and drawings in career; domestic biographical argument: overwhelming is real (Krakatoa sky = real sky) + documented (diary entry January 22 1892) + survived (to 80) + artistically productive (four versions/$119.9M/most reproduced image of psychological experience); Scream = NOT image of defeat = documentation of overwhelming that was survived and transformed into art. On deck: warm white 2700K (blood-red + orange sky as room’s primary warm chromatic event from neutral warm white, most restrained, warm-cool contrast orange-red sky vs blue-black fjord); warm charcoal 2700K (warm charcoal neutral dark continuous with composition’s blue-black fjord + dark bridge; orange-red sky advances as sole warm event from combined dark; most dramatically intense + most confrontational). Installation: living room secondary/primary (warm white or charcoal, 155–165 cm, overwhelming survived in room of daily domestic life, most emotionally honest primary statement); psychologist/therapist home office (warm white 125–145 cm facing desk, overwhelming real/survivable/documented, professional specificity for therapeutic practice); dark academia secondary (after Night Watch/Wanderer primary + Scream secondary = programme acknowledges overwhelming is real and survived). Nasjonalmuseet Oslo + Munch Museum Oslo + Guardian Munch + Guardian 2021 inscription confirmation references. DeckArts from ~$140. Canadian maple. UV archival 100+ years. Berlin. 30-day return.

About the Author

Stanislav Arnautov is the founder of DeckArts and a creative director from Ukraine based in Berlin.