Masterpiece Mystery Solved: Researchers Determine Cryptic ‘Madman’ Message Writer on Iconic Edvard Munch Painting 'The Scream'
A message written on the iconic painting "The Scream" has riddled people for years. Experts, for decades, have speculated that the painter himself, Edvard Munch, wrote the message, ATI reported. The assertion has been proven to be true after multiple tests have confirmed that it was Munch who scribbled the cryptic line on his renowned work.
"The Scream" was first exhibited in Norway in 1895, Smithsonian Magazine reported. The painting features an open-mouthed central figure, who stands on a bridge in a sea of swirling colors. The sea allegedly represents Munch's mental health, as per experts.
Munch created four versions of the painting. Three are in the National Museum of Norway, while one has been sold.
The line was scrawled in Norwegian on the top-left corner of the painting. It reads: "Could only have been painted by a madman!" It was first noted by an anonymous Danish art critic in 1904 and has since been a huge mystery for researchers to solve.
The National Museum of Norway announced in 2021, that their researchers after a series of tests claimed that the message was composed by Munch.
As part of a restoration project, the museum staff looked at the inscription using infrared photography. The infrared technology highlighted the contours of the writings to such an extent that they could be matched with Munch's writings.
The scribblings were matched with Munch's diary entries. Experts found that many features were common in both samples.
"There are some letters in his handwriting that are really distinct, like the N, or the D, which turns up at the end," Lasse Jacobsen, a research librarian at the Munch Museum stated, Smithsonian Magazine reported. "So when I saw it there I thought, 'This is Munch.'"
Mai Britt Guleng, a curator at the National Museum was sure that both the samples belonged to Munch. "The writing is without a doubt Munch’s own," says the curator.
Researchers believe the scribbling could have been done by Munch in a moment of vulnerability, ATI reported. Reactions toward "The Scream" were underwhelming on its first showing, and also invited comments about Munch's mental state.
During a discussion about the painting, medical student, Johan Scharffenberg, questioned Munch's sanity. He reportedly added that Munch might be prone to hallucinations and should be sent to a psychiatric facility.
Munch allegedly heard these remarks, which considering his background might have impacted him deeply, ATI reported. There was a history of depression and insanity in his family, and the artist was always scared of being afflicted with such conditions himself.
Researchers feel that the combination of hurt and fear might have caused the artist to lash out at the painting with the scribbling. "He might have been drunk doing it," Guleng
said. "It might have been a moment of emotional distress."
Munch's detractors were proven wrong in due course, ATI reported. "The Scream" is now considered a distinguished artwork reflecting the 20th-century traumas of mankind. The pastel version of the painting was sold at auction for $120 million in 2012.