The Scream

On a bridge beneath a sky streaked blood-red and orange, a gaunt, skull-like figure presses both hands to its head and opens its mouth in a silent, endless scream, while two figures walk on, oblivious, behind. Munch said the picture came from a moment when he felt an infinite scream passing through nature. Now in Oslo's National Gallery, the Scream is the supreme image of modern dread - existential anxiety given unforgettable form - and belongs with his other Frieze of Life works, several of which are also in this collection.