The Scream - Formal Anaylsis attempt

The Scream by Edward Munch uses his lines and brushstrokes to lead the viewer’s eyes throughout the painting. It is composed of tempera and pastels on cardboard. The onlooker is first drawn to the man in the foreground. The contrast between his dark attire and the lightness of his face make him appear skeletal. Munch drew the man with simplicity adding to this emaciated appearance. The curving of the man’s body is reflected throughout the painting, as are the blended yet visible lines.

The viewer’s eyes are drawn next into a series of these blended lines to the right of the figure. Mixed with blues, greens, reds, and yellows this section is a melting pot of all the colors present in the painting. The lines curving to the right act as transition to the next portion of the painting. The eyes quickly move up to the diluted landscapes. Here, the lines are in no particular direction. Instead, the curves form the landscape in itself. Blue water is painted with strokes of lighter blue clear to the viewer on top of a darker shade. The arching strokes enfold an area resembling an island with a color of similar shade to the face of the screaming man. The difference between light and dark is once again visible. The curvilinear strokes and the similar colors create remind the viewer of the man in the foreground.
The landscape is concluded with dark blue rolling hills in the background. The rolls of the hills are mirrored in the fiery sky. The stripes appear to be a continuation of the hills that continue to the top of the painting. The blazing orange and yellow stripes of the sky give it a glow that is only seen in the sky.

Finally, the viewer’s eyes are directed to two muted silhouettes and a boardwalk that lead back to the man in the foreground. The figures in the background are painted in muted colors with blended forms, showing that they are not the focus in this painting. The boardwalk is a series of lines all directed towards the main figure in the foreground that leads the eyes back to the beginning. The straight lines of the promenade are disparate from the sweeping lines elsewhere in the painting.

Going from the man in the foreground and then in a counterclockwise direction around the work of art, the eyes end on their beginning with the man in anguish. Taking a step back, the contrasting colors and curvilinear lines are the most striking. The lines allow the eyes to flow with ease throughout the painting, but still put the most importance on the man in the foreground. After viewing this painting, the viewer is left with an eerie feeling of anxiety from the contrasting colors, swirling nature, and utter agony of the twisted individual that is the focus of the piece.