This person isn't actually screaming - Noah Charney

Explore Edvard Munch’s masterpiece “The Scream,” and find out why this artwork became one of the world’s most famous paintings.
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An undulating sky melds into the landscape, two silhouettes move along a balustraded walkway, and a ghostly figure’s features extend in agony. Since Norwegian artist Edvard Munch created "The Scream" in 1893, it’s become one of the world’s most famous artworks. But why has its cry traveled so far and endured so long? Noah Charney shares the inspiration behind the dramatic and haunting masterpiece.
Lesson by Noah Charney, directed by Martina Meštrović.
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View full lesson: ed.ted.com/lessons/this-perso...
Dig deeper with additional resources: ed.ted.com/lessons/this-perso...
Animator's website: vimeo.com/martinamestrovic
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Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Rohan Gupta, Begum Tutuncu, Brian Richards, Jørgen Østerpart, Tyron Jung, Carsten Tobehn, Katie Dean, Ezgi Yersu, Gerald Onyango, alessandra tasso, Doreen Reynolds-Consolati, Manognya Chakrapani, Ayala Ron, Eunsun Kim, Phyllis Dubrow, Ophelia Gibson Best, Paul Schneider, Joichiro Yamada, Henrique Cassús, Karthik Cherala, Clarence E. Harper Jr., Vignan Velivela, Ana Maria, Exal Enrique Cisneros Tuch, Tejas Dc, Khalifa Alhulail, Martin Stephen, Jose Henrique Leopoldo e Silva, Mandeep Singh, Abhijit Kiran Valluri, Morgan Williams, Devin Harris, Pavel Zalevskiy, Karen Goepen-Wee, Filip Dabrowski, Barbara Smalley, Megan Douglas, Tim Leistikow, Ka-Hei Law, Hiroshi Uchiyama, Mark Morris, Misaki Sato, EdoKun, SookKwan Loong, Bev Millar, Lex Azevedo, Michael Aquilina, Jason A Saslow, Yansong Li and Cristóbal Moenne.

[@indigofenrir7236]

The Scream is the signature facial expression of college students.

[@baronde8551]

When you enter engineering

[@nawa2396]

😱

[@jerryrichardson2799]

True, lol!

[@harmonetheanimationaddict4419]

Besides crying.

[@citrange077]

And everyone living even after college.

[@kirisuchan1956]

We talked about this painting in art class once and our teacher explained that the colors and texture of the sky in the painting is screaming not the person, making the person overwhelmed from their environment, its called expressionism :>

[@DB-me7ol]

I heard it is also connected with a volcano explosion or something year without a summer

[@user-ci1kj1vy9g]

سنه انفجار بركان ملئ سماء بدخان و رماد منع ضوء شمس عام بدون صيف​@@DB-me7ol

[@PaigeTheCartoonCaptain]

Lol that's me anytime a fork scrapes a plate Interesting tho

[@indigofenrir7236]

@@PaigeTheCartoonCaptain When you can hear a description of a sound.

[@PaigeTheCartoonCaptain]

@@indigofenrir7236 what I mean when that happens in real life

[@Unstbecsta]

Munch’s personal description of the scream during his walk with friends was so oddly comforting to me when I first heard it….I have General Anxiety Disorder and I have experienced moments like that often. Knowing a widely regarded and famous painter also understood this unexpected inexplicable fear is just……it’s nice to know you’re not alone!!!!!!

[@perpetualbystander4516]

You remind me of Sigourney Weaver.

[@anabsolutetrashfire1312]

It's giving depersonalisation or derealisation for me. Honestly why I like it so much.

[@abynevermore5542]

​@@perpetualbystander4516😂😂😂 jesus christ that was accurate

[@Sigma_Male_Anti_Female]

"I would like to write a Book which would drive men mad, which would be like an open door leading them where they would never have consented to go, in short, a door that opens onto reality" - Antonin Artaud.

[@payalkarnavat3251]

the animation depicting the essence of the painting is awesome

[@awesomehpt8938]

Honestly with such a beautiful view of the sea I’d be pretty happy. Especially with that nice sunset. Always wondered why the guy is screaming.

[@chrisvazquez4291]

I hope this comment becomes the most popular. Cheers

[@the-syllogist]

existential angst...and mental illness

[@ojhabhumika]

But when struggling with a mental illness or general unhappiness, even the most beautiful of the locations can feel overwhelmingly scary.

[@ItsMe-sx9ck]

Could only have been painted by a madman

[@mine_neko]

I heard somewhere it wasn't any kind of sunset... the colors in the sky really diferent and kind of "special" due to the recent eruption of the Krakatoa.

[@Sunflowersarepretty]

The scream face 😱😱gives me anxiety. Like I remember as a kid seeing the scream mask (I'm talking about the movies) and even the painting and I was afraid of it.

[@camillac.s.279]

Still afraid and still gives me anxiety . 😢

[@bullockkids920]

Me too😢

[@ThrillSeeker3524]

You'd be amazed how much of an influence mental illness has had on arts and media

[@Sigma_Male_Anti_Female]

Bruh being mentally ill is a requirement for your painting to become famous 💀

[@PaigeTheCartoonCaptain]

You'd be surprised how many people are secretly mentally ill without realizing it (Well maybe you wouldn't be but it's a lot. Not that I could possibly know exactly how many)

[@amazoring8269]

@@Sigma_Male_Anti_Femalenot painting just art I. General tbh

[@chrisvazquez4291]

Tuberculosis. Such a ravaging force human history!

[@Emilk0130]

Wild thing is that it's not even 'history'. Still very prevalent in a lot places even though we very well know how to get rid of it. Look it up! :)

[@cankatmalik]

@@Emilk0130very sad and true!

[@shramanadasdutta3006]

Found John Green

[@syeedahaseeba8576]

"Could only have been painted by a madman" wise words for sure ✨️❤️‍🩹 3:32

[@ThrillSeeker3524]

"Thank goodness for that, because if I weren't, this would probably never work." -Captain Jack Sparrow

[@mecahhannah]

Awesome as always thanks ❤

[@mangantasy289]

Having sevre mental health issues myself, that painting speaks to the darkest parts of my heart. Way too relatable.

[@SciMinute]

Fascinating topic! Thanks!

[@Passion84GodAlways]

I ❤ these TED-ED videos! 🤩

[@Alish-629bang]

Dude, I love Edvard Munch! He's my favorite painter!

[@paramesapravichandran8152]

Loved this!

[@ronaldosapam8736]

Taking a moment to appreciate the efforts and work the illustrators and animated have put together for this amazing project

[@MysticChronicles712]

A stunning examination of Edvard Munch's 'The Scream'! This video wonderfully explores this legendary artwork's profound meaning and the secrets underlying its enduring fame. The findings illuminated each brushstroke's emotional and cultural significance. A wonderful art history lesson that made me appreciate this eternal masterpiece. Excellent effort deciphering one of the world's most iconic paintings!"

[@gailaltschwager7377]

Thank you!

[@icemagiciangh3268]

Hearing his voice, one that moments prior spoke of psychiatric wards and TB, say “emoji” is the most surreal thing I’ve heard all week.

[@ahmedsaoudi2344]

This video is, in and of itself, a piece of art!

[@sandraaalbk7560]

Beautiful❤

[@MrsJudithWright]

So interesting, thanks TED Ed.

[@ayugitabhagawanti5095]

Truly a masterpiece this video is

[@ModernAtomX]

I want to know why people are seemingly inherently against artistic ventures. Seems to be a common theme throughout all of history.

[@ThrillSeeker3524]

Because they depict a brutal truth that upsets people in many cases

[@simonghostriley9657]

I swear to god this is my WhatsApp pfp

[@aviralgupta393]

people fear the new & the unkown

[@Echo81Rumple83]

Humans are easily startled creatures when it comes to new changes.

[@ann18o96]

People are scared of change and the unknown, so free thinkers who express their emotions and travel are their enemy.

[@yellowbox9912]

The “Scream” is a whole mood”

[@angelnicolev.iniego4253]

I love this!

[@crankyturtle9704]

Wow love the art and music in this one!

[@sky.2310]

the best painting. ❤

[@fauxvier8519]

The music worked along with the vid really well

[@fc192shibism3]

Title: The Person Isn't Actually Screaming... The Video: The Person Is Screaming 🤷‍♂️

[@MrDingez]

Me reading the tiltle: 😱 Me after I watched the video: 🙄

[@connorbeighley6981]

I had an art teacher that loved this painting

[@CharlotteXMoon]

I learned something today thank you!

[@nat_htrk]

This painting successfully scared me as a child 😱

[@theWZZA]

The animation here complements the painting so well ♥

[@NoName-in3sx]

When the narrator said "Since Norwegian artist Edvard Munch created The Scream in 1893" I heard a little girl screaming outside my window! Coincident real-life sound effects?

[@nekkoPi]

Long ago I heard that this person in the middle of the painting isn't screaming; they are putting their hands against their ears, shutting them, because of someone/something else's scream. I was still a teen but it made total sense to me.

[@aleksandarvil5718]

Munch be like: 😱😱😱

[@bhaskarchatterjee5249]

I’ve always had a ghastly feeling about this painting but then I figured it’s just me on a Monday morning when my alarm goes off

[@patmullarkey7659]

The colors in the Scream came from the eruption of Krakatoa volcano. It erupted in 1883 sending gases and dust into the atmosphere. February 2004 issue of Sky & Telescope.

[@futuristic.handgun]

It's so freaking cool that this 😱 is in existence because of the painting. My new favorite fact that I can't wait to tell people. 😁

[@adrianblake8876]

There's also cat version: 🙀

[@farhanrejwan]

never knew the backstory of this emoji 😱 i always thought it meant "oh wow" or "that's astonishing", or something like that.

[@BEExPyro]

I have been thinking of this painting for three days before I notice this video existed.

[@98Zai]

Very cool

[@simotalka3682]

From my opinnion about this famous painting is that the screaming figure is telling the pain in the painter's head when he witness the ghastly horror on the landview while the painter is screaming from fear that he can't do anything but can only scream from fear

[@agelessorca]

This video gave me the same feelings as A Christmas Carol.

[@hanleylinify]

Munch is my favourite artist. Love all of his paintings. I can relate to those human sufferings.

[@RamonQuiro7]

I like how it ties with current world context; explaining its influence on the now

[@user-eq2dx2jp6v]

Thank u all ❤❤❤❤❤

[@gerlalu6647]

This almost triggered my anxiety

[@dimamatat5548]

I always thought the figure wasn't screaming, just silently shocked by something to the point of staring with its mouth open.

[@teruphoto]

Having been a fan of this painting for years, I can't believe that I never associated it with the 😱 emoji. It's probably due to the emotional being associated with fear whereas this painting is about anguish.

[@Sudstah]

The scream to me is amazing because it shows discomfort and pain via body language, by a skewed viewed and by unnatural vivid colours representing inside the mind.

[@3rd_iimpact]

“Who’s next?” “MEEEEEEE!!”

[@somebody-lilac]

how bad do you have to scare someone that their face deforms-

[@VashTheTyphonicStampede]

I remember when I was in 2nd year high school, we had a project in our art class where we were to choose one famous artwork and paint it in a white t-shirt. That time, I chose this one, The Scream. I remember that I have made it quite well. Then the painted t-shirts made by us students were placed (hanged) in one of our school's hallways as an exhibit. They were exhibited for quite some time. I can still remember - whenever I saw my project, I was happy and proud of it. That time, The Scream was the most interesting one for me. I found it bizarre that whenever I look at it, I get an eerie, sinister yet curious feeling at the same time.

[@user-bp4nv3qp4d]

Very wonderful 🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍

[@MGD313]

The sky in "The Scream" could have been caused by the eruption of Krakatoa.

[@TeddyKrimsony]

no red skies happen every year, last year it was pink and the year before it was yellow idk why

[@Ikajo]

In Norway? Not likely. It is actually a common occurrence during winter in Scandinavia. I've painted a dramatic sundown myself, inspired by an actual sundown

[@Zahk_noodle]

"This person isn't actually screaming" *explains why the person is actually screaming*

[@aleksandarvil5718]

Me: 😱😱😱

[@525Lines]

How do you conserve a painting done on cardboard? I assume it wasn't corrugated.

[@taywhit2593]

As a little kid I saw a snippet of PBS show on The Scream that my Grandmother was watching. The painting horrified me, and I couldn’t tell you why. Maybe it was that gaunt, ghost like face, or maybe that the figure was looking at you the whole time. Whatever the reason, I refused to look at anything having to do with The Scream till I was in High school. I’m happy I got a chance here to learn a little about the picture, and understand the history of the anxiety that inspired it and haunted my childhood.

[@diyaghosh1644]

I used to have the same scream mask at home quite recently

[@gregoryfenn1462]

Had a lot of nightmares literally about this in my life :(

[@creativezonebyarnabi]

Could you make a video explaining Cholinergic uriticaria

[@DefileOdds]

He's not screaming?! 😱 NOOOOOOOO!!!!

[@_aglest]

He's aroused

[@waldruimwatchnet896]

So basically he invented depiction of Gen Z?

[@natheriver8910]

Muito esclarecedor 👏👏👏👏😱😱😱

[@marcusmortensen404]

The location where Munch got the insiration for the scream is "Ekeberg utsikten" wich is actually not a bridge, its a more like a cliff overlooking the city and the fjord.

[@heterodontosaurustucki]

NEVER LET EDVARD MUNCH COOK AGAIN 🔥🔥🔥

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

My wallet always screams in agony after payday

[@marciaandrade4059]

Oh the agony of the world

[@jacquieclaypoole1283]

It could well be a reaction to hearing or even feeling a scream within one’s energy field. All of the thoughts we generate send energy out. To say nothing of millennia energy and ripples of it from actions . Then through bombs, guns grenades of more recent centuries bouncing energy around in our vacuum. It is a wonder anyone sensitive to energy can rest at all.

[@maddietheweird.4029]

When I was in Elementary school the art teacher had us draw our own versions of this painting but with Crayola markers.

[@user-yh1fj3jo9y]

some historians have suggested that Munch was seeing the atmospheric impact of a major volcanic eruption that had reached around the globe

[@leovanwinkle8812]

I got some Lovecraft vibes from some of those quotes!

[@SpookyDisneyPrincess]

4:23 I recognize that scream sound from the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland and DisneyWorld 😍

[@anafiyel]

Oh, I never guessed that it was from this picture that the symbol of horror and the movie "Scream" began.

[@litojonny]

lol the pikachu scream

[@SOUTH_ASIAN]

Fun fact: this masterpiece is inspired by the view from Van Gogh's second-story bedroom window.

[@4h4nn]

4:55 - 5:00 Am I the only one hearing the Angels screaming?

[@josephusalburo3477]

Hey ted ed,try doing the battle of yultong

[@MrEnte3000]

Not sure why I never thought of this before, but could this painting have influenced the design of Gyigas in EarthBound?

[@lotusgal313]

Until now I had no idea that painting inspired the ghost face mask in the scream franchise

[@dharmrajmaurya715]

I want that piece of music....please

[@hanve]

❤❤❤

[@jadijune9058]

The reader’s voice is very familiar, it seems I heard him in the cartoon “Papa Beaver’s story time’. 😍

[@natenathan2654]

The guy was trying to paint an long eared dog but wasnt very good. ....you will never unsee it

[@comicalsteamengine9344]

I always new he was just posing for his picture 😅

[@namelesscare7982]

There is a movie series named "Scream". It is about a serial killer with a ridiculous costume who kills people and spreads horror. That movie came to my mind while watching this. P.S. During the video is also briefly mentioned on this franchise.

[@ansuns-06]

Scream actually depict his painters own sufferings۔the pain he wants to convey is obvious,TB was a great cause of sufferings for these generations, imagine seeing someone die everyday slowly how horrible it is۔his soul is in this scream ۔۔۔۔

[@robintauber9994]

No note of "Home Alone" and that famous still that the Actor is still associated with?

[@sapphyrus]

The overly red sky he saw was attributed to the volcanic eruptions in SE Asia that affected the atmosphere for some time back then.

[@bigbulk688]

Doesn't explain why is the painting so famous? Every painting has a story, more often it is dark, so what made Scream so distinctly profound? Was it Much was already a big name and thus the painting became famous too?

[@matthewwriter9539]

I have no mouth and I must scream.

[@SpiderTheGruffet]

and that is like the only noteworthy fact about this painting

[@RealFoxTrotFox]

I see Kevin from home alone took heavy inspiration from this painting

[@julianlawrence-ball2279]

I’ve always thought it was just a badly painted Spaniel

[@aleksandarvil5718]

Munch be like: 😱😱😱

[@redacted9506]

The US government considering using the scream to mark hazardous sites for future generations is a TRIP to think about. I imagine there will be an entire branch of archeology dedicated to the World Wide Web.

[@DarrellKareem-sz4cl]

iirc i think the cause of the painters horror was from a volcanic eruption in indonesia forgot if it was karakatoa or tambora

[@paillette2010]

4:42 99% Invisible had an episode on the group who was doing this and trying to explain to generations in a distant future about radioactive sites.