Norwegian Museum says Edvard Munch wrote ‘Madman’ in ‘The Scream’

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) – The National Museum of Norway says a small, almost invisible phrase, written in pencil in Edvard Munch’s 1893 masterpiece, “The Scream”, written by the Norwegian painter himself.

The painting showing a figure resembling an abandoned child nestling its head in its hands with its mouth open, has become a global icon for the expression of human anxiety. The phrase – “it could only have been painted by a madman” – was scrawled in the upper left corner.

The painting is being prepared to be exhibited at the new National Museum of Norway, which will open in Oslo, the capital of Norway, in 2022. In this sense, the canvas has undergone research and conservation.

“The writing is undoubtedly Munch’s own,” said Mai Britt Guleng, curator of the National Museum, in a statement on Monday, adding that it was compared to the painter’s own doodles in diaries and letters.

“The calligraphy itself, as well as the events that took place in 1895, when Munch first showed the painting in Norway, everything points in the same direction,” said Guleng.

The screen writing was added after Munch completed the painting, but for years it has been a mystery, the museum said in a statement. Speculation ranges from an act of vandalism by an outraged viewer to something written by Munch himself.

Guleng said the inscription was probably made “in 1895, when Munch first exhibited the painting”.

The painting of the time caused public speculation about Munch’s mental state. During a night of discussion at which the artist was present, a young medical student questioned Munch’s mental health and claimed that his work proved that he was not solid.

“It is likely that Munch added the inscription in 1895, or shortly thereafter, in response to the judgment of his work,” the statement said.

Munch was deeply hurt by the accusations, returning to the incident repeatedly in letters and notes in the diary. His father and sister suffered bouts of depression and Munch was finally hospitalized after a nervous breakdown in 1908, said Guleng.

The National Gallery was temporarily closed in 2019 to ensure a safe process of moving to the new National Museum, which is currently under construction in central Oslo. The museum will exhibit 400,000 objects ranging from antiquity to the present day and includes paintings, sculptures, drawings, textiles, furniture and architectural models.