In Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream it is not the figure on the bridge screaming. He is covering his ears and looks shocked because he hears a scream in the sky. It is a horrible sound. It is the pressure wave from Krakatoa exploding. To him, according to the artist, it is the sound of the planet’s soul in anguish.
In this way it represents the existential angst thinking people feel. Our modern world offers no spiritual comfort. We are each utterly alone. Our pain is for naught. Our sacrifice serves no greater good. When we hear the planet cry out, there is only a cringe of realization of how isolated we are.
Although The Scream is self-portrait in a way, it shows us ourselves.
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