The Scream - Those famous clouds

The world famous painting by Edvard Munch has been under discussion yet again recently, as experts look into the origins and meanings behind the vivid clouds which define this piece.

The unusual sky formation in this painting has previously been linked to the aftermath of a volcanic eruption as just nine years before the first version was created, Krakatoa famously blew it's top.

This eruption was one of the biggest volcanic events in recorded history, and its sulphurous emission circled the globe to generate some spectacular sunsets. More recently however, a Norwegian group argues that the wavy shapes painted by Munch are far more likely to be a rare phenomena called Mother of Pearl Clouds. Although our scientific knowledge now allows us to understand the conditions and causes of this dramatic change in weather, in 1892 when this was painted, it was likely to have been more of a shock. "As an artist, they no doubt could have made quite an impression on him." Dr Muri was speaking here in Vienna at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly. You can read the full BBC article here.

Munch's work was a defining development in the Expressionism movement, but clouds have been portrayed in a vast variety of form and colour as the fashions in art have changed. Monet painted them in warm tones in his Windmill painting, while Magritte paints them as the fluffy almost cartoon-like clouds we imagine as children. Moran takes on a different approach, and although his brush marks are light, the deep, fiery colours create a dramatic volcanic sky against this seascape.

This piece is now in the public domain, so we were able to reproduce it for a recent commissions which you can read about here. Our artists did a fantastic job of recreating these iconic clouds and, understandably, our customer was very happy with the finished piece. We then arranged for our team of professional framers to cut and join a frame to order, as is offered with all of our commissioned piece. Please get in touch if you are interested in having an oil painting reproduced.