Edvard Munch (1863-1944), a Norwegian painter was one of the forerunners of Expressionism and was much influenced by Gauguin and Van Gogh. His art is powerful, neurotic and frequently hysterical as in The Scream. Undoubtedly, his art was also influenced by his tragic childhood - his mother died when he was five and a sister when he was thirteen and much of his work expresses this agonized pessimism

In this oil painting, one of Munchs best known, the figure writhes as though deafened by the searing sunset colors and pounded by the pressure of the waves of pain Munch himself experienced. The scene achieves its mesmeric power through its basis in reality, and is a startling example of Munchs recollection and subsequent heightening of specific memories.

The painting was stolen by armed robbers from Olsos National Art Gallery in 2004 along with several other oil paintings by Munch.