Text by the Editorial Staff
In the collection you will find the earliest versions of The Scream, as well as Madonna, The Girls on the Pier, The Dance of Life, and The Sick Child – artistic statements that are captivating in their ruthless honesty and profound humanism.
The Scream and the other works by Edvard Munch are currently not on display, but will be presented in the Edvard Munch room when the new museum opens in 2021.
The Scream
Painted in 1893, Munch’s iconic Scream was donated to the National Gallery in 1910. In terms of its fame, this painting now rivals works such as Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa (1503) and Van Gogh’s Sunflowers (1888). Few artworks have inspired filmmakers, cartoonists and other artists to the extent that The Scream has done. The painting is a radical and timeless expression of human fear.
Also one of the most important and best known motifs of Edvard Munch’s oeuvre, Madonna was at the centre of his “Frieze of Life” series.
Conservator at the National Museum, Thierry Ford, shows you some secrets of the famous Scream (in English with Norwegian subtitles).
Edvard Munch in the National Museum
In the Munch room in the new National Museum, you will get to see 18 of Munch's most central works.
In this room you'll find The Sick Child, The Scream, The Dance of Life, Ashes, Death in the Sick-room, and more.
You will also find Munch paintings in other rooms in the museum, placing him in a wider context.
