Munch recalled that he had been out for a walk at sunset when suddenly the setting sun's light turned the clouds "a blood red". He sensed an "infinite scream passing through nature". Scholars agree it was the immense eruption of the volcano Mount Krakatoa, which could be heard 5,000km away and colored skies across the world that prompted the reaction.
The agonized face in the painting has become one of the most iconic images of art, seen as symbolizing the anxiety of the human condition. Munch's work, including The Scream, would go on to have a formative influence on the Expressionist movement, and the subject of many fine art parodies.
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