The Scream

Norwegian artist Edvard Munch will forever be known for the painting The Scream, even though he produced a large body of work over his lifetime. His paintings often conveyed melancholy, angst, and downright depression, which Munch knew all about because of his troubled childhood in a family plagued with health problems and mental illness. But The Scream stood out as a particularly overt symbol of dispair and existential dread. The scene itself was inspired by a meteorological event that colored the sky, and Munch heard, or maybe felt, a scream pass through nature. The face that Munch painted (several times) is not the one screaming, but rather a person reacting to the scream he heard. This TED-Ed lesson looks into the life of Edvard Munch and his inspiration for an enduring painting that speaks to the fear and anxiety in all of us. (via Damn Interesting)