Munch The Scream: Complete Art History Guide — 4 Versions, Krakatoa Sky, and $119.9 Million

Last updated: May 2026 · By Stanislav Arnautov · Berlin

Edvard Munch (Løten, Norway, 1863 – Oslo, Norway, 1944) painted the first version of The Scream in 1893, when he was 29 years old. He lived until 80, producing an extensive body of work that included the Frieze of Life cycle of which The Scream is the most famous element. The Scream — formally titled Der Schrei der Natur (The Scream of Nature) in Munch's original German — exists in four authenticated versions: two paintings and two pastels. The National Museum Oslo holds the 1893 pastel (91 × 73.5 cm). The Munch Museum Oslo holds both the 1893 oil-and-tempera version and the 1910 tempera version. The 1895 pastel was sold at Sotheby's New York on 2 May 2012 for $119,922,500 — at the time the highest price ever paid for a work of art at auction. DeckArts reproduces The Scream on Grade-A Canadian maple from approximately $140, shipping from Berlin.

Four Versions of The Scream: Which Is Which

Munch's Diary Entry: The Real Event That Caused the Painting

Munch's diary entry of 22 January 1892 describes the specific experience that the painting depicts: "I was walking along a path with friends — the sun was setting — suddenly the sky turned blood-red. I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence. There was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city. My friends walked on, and I stood there trembling with anxiety — and I sensed an endless scream passing through nature." The location was the road from Ekeberg hill toward Oslo, a route Munch walked regularly. The bridge in the painting is the road across Ekeberg — below it was a slaughterhouse and a mental institution where Munch's sister Laura was committed. The blood-red sky, the screaming figure, and the undulating landscape are not metaphors but attempts to paint an actual perceptual experience: the sky genuinely turned blood-red above Munch on this walk, and the experience triggered in him a sensation of universal anguish that he spent the following year attempting to paint.

The Orange Sky: Krakatoa's Dust and Blood-Red Sunsets

The blood-red sky Munch observed in January 1892 had a specific physical cause: the atmospheric aftermath of the eruption of Krakatoa volcano in August 1883. Krakatoa (Krakatau, Indonesia) erupted on 26–27 August 1883 in one of the most powerful volcanic explosions in recorded history — the sound was heard 4,800 km away. The eruption injected approximately 20 cubic kilometres of ash and sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere, where the particles dispersed globally and persisted for approximately three years. This stratospheric aerosol scattered sunlight differently from the unaffected atmosphere, producing vivid red, orange, and purple sunsets across the Northern Hemisphere from 1883 to approximately 1886. Unusually vivid sunsets continued to be reported in Norway into the early 1890s, as secondary atmospheric effects persisted longer at high latitudes. The blood-red sky of Munch's January 1892 experience — nine years after the eruption — may have been one of the final Krakatoa-influenced sunset events observed in Northern Europe.

This geological explanation does not reduce the painting's psychological content; it contextualises the perceptual stimulus. Munch experienced a real, physically unusual atmospheric event and responded with a psychological experience of extreme anxiety and existential dissolution. The Scream documents the specific subjective response to a specific objective stimulus — a record of where geology, meteorology, and individual psychology met in a human perceptual experience on a road in Ekeberg in January 1892.

The Hidden Pencil Inscription: "Can Only Have Been Painted by a Madman"

In 2021, the National Museum Oslo confirmed the discovery of a pencil inscription on the frame of the 1893 pastel version of The Scream: "Can only have been painted by a madman." The inscription is written in Norwegian in small pencil letters on the upper left of the frame, partially hidden by the frame edge. Infrared imaging had revealed it in earlier examinations; handwriting analysis in 2021 confirmed that the inscription is in Munch's own hand — he wrote it himself on his own painting. The date of the inscription is not established; it may have been written shortly after the painting's first public exhibition (at the autumn exhibition in Berlin, 1893) which generated a hostile critical reception, or at a later point.

Munch had a documented history of mental health crises and was familiar with psychiatric institutions — his sister Laura was committed to the Gaustad mental hospital in Christiania (Oslo). The self-inscription "can only have been painted by a madman" may be Munch's pre-emptive response to the critical reception, a sardonic acknowledgment of the painting's psychological intensity, or a genuine moment of self-doubt. It remains one of the most debated inscriptions in 20th-century art history.

$119.9 Million: The Sotheby's 2012 Auction

The 1895 pastel version of The Scream (79 × 59 cm) was sold at Sotheby's New York on 2 May 2012 for $119,922,500 — at the time the highest price ever paid for a work of art at auction, surpassing the previous record of $106.5 million set by Picasso's Nude, Green Leaves and Bust (Christie's 2010). The seller was the estate of Petter Olsen, a Norwegian shipping magnate whose father Thomas Olsen had been Munch's neighbour and patron. The buyer was Leon Black, co-founder of Apollo Global Management, who subsequently owned the work until 2022 when he consigned it for private sale amid personal and professional controversy. The work's current ownership has not been publicly confirmed.

The auction lasted 12 minutes and attracted 8 bidders. The final bid of $119.9 million (including buyer's premium) was approximately $84 million in excess of the pre-sale high estimate of $80 million. At the time, the Sotheby's auction result made The Scream the most publicly validated artwork of the 20th century in market terms.

Two Thefts: 1994 and 2004

12 February 1994 — National Gallery Oslo (Version 1, 1893 pastel): On the opening day of the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, two men broke a window of the National Gallery in Oslo during the early morning hours, climbed in, and removed the 1893 pastel version in approximately 50 seconds. They left a note reading: "Thanks for the poor security." The thieves were members of a Norwegian criminal organisation; they subsequently attempted to sell the painting for a ransom of $1 million. The Norwegian police, working with the Getty Museum's security team under J. Paul Getty Museum senior curator Charlie Hill, arranged a sting operation. The painting was recovered undamaged in Asgardstrand, Norway, in May 1994 — approximately 3 months after the theft.

22 August 2004 — Munch Museum Oslo (Version 2, 1893 oil): Two armed men entered the Munch Museum during opening hours, threatened staff and visitors with guns, and removed both The Scream (1893 oil version) and Madonna (1894–95) in daylight in front of witnesses. The robbery took approximately 2 minutes. Both paintings were recovered in August 2006 — two years after the theft — by Norwegian police. The 1893 oil version sustained some damage during its recovery: minor abrasions and water damage, subsequently treated by the Munch Museum's conservation team.

The Scream on Dark Walls: Orange-Red Against Deep Blue

The Scream's palette — orange-red and blood-red sky against deep blue-green fjord and dark landscape — is the most dramatically warm-cool contrasted composition in the DeckArts range. On a dark domestic wall, two different effects are possible:

On deep navy or dark blue-green walls: The wall's cool dark colour echoes the deep blue-green of the fjord in the lower half of the composition. The orange-red sky in the upper half advances at maximum chromatic intensity from the cool dark ground. The composition's horizontal division — cool dark below, warm red above — merges with the room's dark wall in the lower zone, leaving the orange-red sky floating as a warm upper field. This is the most dramatic possible installation of The Scream in a domestic interior.

On warm charcoal or forest green walls: The cool blue-green of the fjord contrasts with the warm dark wall; the orange-red sky reads as warm against cool. Both chromatic zones of the composition are in active contrast with the wall simultaneously — a less immersive but more fully visible installation where the complete composition reads at maximum tonal contrast.

DeckArts

Munch — The Scream (~$140)

1893/1895/1910, 4 versions. Orange sky from Krakatoa dust. Hidden inscription: "Can only have been painted by a madman." $119.9M at Sotheby's 2012. Stolen twice (1994 and 2004), both recovered. On Canadian maple from ~$140.

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FAQ

How many versions of The Scream are there?

There are four authenticated versions of Edvard Munch's The Scream: the 1893 pastel (National Museum Oslo, stolen 1994 and recovered), the 1893 oil and tempera on cardboard (Munch Museum Oslo, stolen 2004 and recovered 2006), the 1895 pastel (private collection, sold Sotheby's 2012 for $119.9 million), and the 1910 tempera (Munch Museum Oslo). All four are authenticated by the Munch Museum and the National Museum of Norway.

What caused the red sky in The Scream?

The blood-red sky in Munch's The Scream was caused by atmospheric dust from the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa volcano in Indonesia. Krakatoa injected approximately 20 cubic kilometres of ash and sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere, producing vivid red and orange sunsets across the Northern Hemisphere for approximately three years — with secondary effects persisting longer at high latitudes. Munch observed the blood-red sky on a walk in Ekeberg, Oslo, in January 1892 — nearly 9 years after the eruption — and recorded the experience in his diary that day.

Who wrote "Can only have been painted by a madman" on The Scream?

Edvard Munch himself wrote the pencil inscription "Can only have been painted by a madman" on the upper left frame of the 1893 pastel version of The Scream. Confirmed by infrared imaging and handwriting analysis by the National Museum Oslo in 2021. The date and specific motivation of the inscription are unknown; it may relate to the hostile critical reception of the painting's first Berlin exhibition (1893) or to a later moment of self-reflection.

Article Summary

Edvard Munch (Løten 1863 – Oslo 1944) produced 4 authenticated versions of The Scream (Der Schrei der Natur): 1893 pastel (National Museum Oslo, stolen 1994 recovered 1994), 1893 oil-tempera (Munch Museum Oslo, stolen 2004 recovered 2006), 1895 pastel ($119,922,500 Sotheby's 2 May 2012 — former record for art at auction), 1910 tempera (Munch Museum Oslo). Inspired by diary entry 22 Jan 1892: "sensed an endless scream passing through nature" at Ekeberg, Oslo. Orange-red sky: Krakatoa (26 Aug 1883) stratospheric dust still producing vivid sunsets in Norway in early 1890s. Hidden inscription in Munch's hand: "Can only have been painted by a madman" (confirmed National Museum 2021 by infrared + handwriting analysis). DeckArts from ~$140, Canadian maple, UV archival 100+ years, Berlin, 30-day return.

About the Author

Stanislav Arnautov is the founder of DeckArts and a creative director originally from Ukraine, now based in Berlin.