The Scream

On May 2, 2012, in New York, Sotheby’s auctioned the painting The Scream by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch for $120 million, setting an auction record. This distorted face, which expresses deep emotional distress, is often interpreted as a visual representation of human anxiety and mental alienation, while the background, with its undulating lines and strong hues, reinforces the atmosphere of chaos and despair. The first of five different versions painted between 1893 and 1917 by the artist, this artwork is considered, along with Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night, as the founding work of the Expressionist movement.