Observations and Interpretations of Art

 The Scream, Painter: Edvard Munch

Observations: The colors blend together to make the back of the painting look soft, almost one. The lakes or water are painted with many different colors. It’s somewhat hard to tell the lake from the ground. You can make out small gondolas it the far back of the painting. The sky uses vibrant colors (orange, red). The sky looks a bit like waves; you cans see the brush strokes. In the middle of the back of the painting, there is what looks like a shadow of a man. The screaming man looks abnormal, bald, squiggle shaped. He looks a bit like an alien. In the far left of the painting there is a “normal” man wearing a suit. Boardwalk is also a few different colors, has some white mixed in. The screaming man is looking to the left.

Inferences: The blending colors shows beauty or simplicity. The many different colors in the bodies of water show how different the parts of the world can be. The orange/red wavy sky represents more beauty but calmness especially with the gondolas in the lake next to it. The harsh brush strokes represent how the world is seen in different ways and the world has imperfections. The man represents the outsider, the person who is different and shows it and the other humans behind represent our “normal society”. The shadow might represent darkness in the peaceful world.

Interpretation: I’ve been observing this painting for a little more than an hour now and I’m beginning to realize that it isn’t simply a picture of a man screaming; I think it represents the world and its many forms. I think it shows how outsiders are portrayed: as aliens like the screaming man in this picture. The outsider’s features are different, like their clothing, and their actions. This alien man is how society looks at people who are diverse. As for the other part of the painting, the beautiful colors blended to make shades show how peaceful the world can be if we let it.  But there is always a dark patch; something preventing us from achieving our goals; the shadow. It’s small, almost hidden; if you glanced you would not see it, but it’s there, always.