Final secret of Edvard Munch’s ‘The Scream’ revealed
A barely legible phrase scribbled on a modern masterpiece gives new insight into the private thoughts of one of the world’s great painters.
Edvard Munch’s The Scream, from 1893, is one of the world’s most famous paintings, but for years art historians have mostly ignored a tiny inscription, written in pencil, at the upper left corner of its frame, reading: “Could only have been painted by a madman”.
Who wrote the sentence there? Some thought a disgruntled viewer might have vandalised the work while it was in a gallery; others imagined it was the artist himself who had jotted the enigmatic sentence. But then why?
Subscribe to gift this article
Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.
Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber?
Introducing your Newsfeed
Follow the topics, people and companies that matter to you.
Find out moreRead More
Latest In Arts & Culture
Fetching latest articles