'''''L'urlo''''', o anche '''''Il grido''''', è un celebre tedesco "Il grido della natura"). 

Realizzato nel olio, Nasjonalgalleriet di Oslo ha dimensioni 91 x 73,5 centimetri. 

== Analisi dell'opera ==
L'opera è un simbolo dell'angoscia e dello smarrimento che segnano tutta la vita del pittore norvegese. La scena rappresenta un'esperienza vera della vita dell'artista: mentre si trovava a passeggiare con degli amici su un ponte della città di Nordstrand, il suo animo venne pervaso dal terrore. Così descrive la scena lo stesso Munch con alcune righe scritte sul suo diario mentre era malato a Nizza: 

Si distinguono chiaramente sullo sfondo i due amici che si allontanano lungo il ponte, estranei al terrore che angosciava il loro compagno. Mentre la bocca spalancata sembra emettere dei suoni che sconvolgono il paesaggio, con delle linee curve, ma non la strada, l'unica consigliera e amica dell'uomo, testimonianza della freddezza di talune persone. Il volto deformato sembra un teschio; anche il corpo sembra essere privo di colonna vertebrale.

La funzione comunicativa prevalente individuata nel dipinto attraverso la lettura dell'opera è espressiva. L'uso del colore e gli accostamenti cromatici associati a lunghe pennellate tese a deformare i soggetti rappresentati suggeriscono uno stato emotivo di angoscia. L'associazione delle linee ondulate con le linee diagonali crea un senso di dinamicità che provoca tensione nell'osservatore. L'uso della luce contribuisce a far scaturire nell'osservatore un senso di inquietudine poiché conferisce il senso dell'immediatezza dell'evento rappresentato, colpendo la figura principale frontalmente come se venisse illuminata dalla luce di un flash. Anche la composizione degli elementi costitutivi del quadro è orientata a sottolineare l'aspetto espressivo dell'opera mettendo in primo piano il soggetto che emette l'urlo, staccandolo dallo sfondo attraverso la frapposizione dell'elemento ponte.

Tale visione di Munch non va solo letta sul piano introspettivo, poiché può essere stato in parte un fenomeno naturale realmente accaduto a causa dell'eruzione vulcanica avvenuta nelle isole Fiji i cui effetti di luci sono stati visibili sino in Norvegia.<ref></ref>

{{Infobox Painting
| image_file=The Scream.jpg
| image_size=300px
| title=The Scream
| other_language_1=Norwegian
| other_title_1=Skrik
| artist=Edvard Munch
| year=1893
| type=Oil, tempera, and pastel on cardboard
| height=91
| width=73.5
| city=Oslo
| museum=National Gallery
}}
'''''The Scream''''' ('''''Skrik''''', 1893-1910<ref name=return></ref>) is a seminal series of expressionist Norwegian artist existential Ekeberg, in Oslo (then Kristiania), Norway.

Munch created several versions of ''The Scream'' in various media. The National Gallery of Norway holds the other painted version (1893, shown to right). A fourth version, in pastel, is owned by Norwegian billionaire lithograph (1895, see gallery) of the image.<ref name="munchMuseum"/>

''The Scream'' has been the target of several high-profile Madonna'' were stolen from the Munch Museum. Both paintings were recovered in 2006. They had sustained some damage and went back on display in May 2008, after undergoing restoration.<ref name=return/>

==Sources of inspiration==
The original German title given to the work by Munch was '''Der Schrei der Natur''' (The Cry of Nature). The Norwegian word ''skrik'' is usually translated as ''scream'', but is shriek''. Occasionally, the painting has been called ''The Cry''.

In a page in his diary headed ''Nice 22.01.1892'', Munch described his inspiration for the image thus:

The reddish sky in the background was possibly caused by the aftermath of the powerful volcanic eruption of Krakatoa in 1883. The ash that was ejected from the volcano left the sky tinted red in much of eastern United States and most of Europe and Asia from November 1883 to February 1884.<ref>
</ref>

The person in the foreground may be the artist himself, not screaming but protecting himself or itself from the scream of Nature. Thus, the position in which he portrays himself could be considered a reflex reaction typical of anyone struggling to keep out distressing noise, whether actual or imagined. 

The scene was identified as being the view from a road overlooking Oslo, the manic depressive sister Laura Catherine was interned in the mental hospital at the foot of Ekeberg.

In 1978, the renowned Munch scholar 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris. This mummy, which was crouching in a fetal position with its hands alongside its face, also struck the imagination of Munch's friend Paul Gauguin: it stood model for the central figure in his painting ''Human misery (Grape harvest at Arles)'' and for the old woman at the left in his painting ''Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?''. More recently, an Italian anthropologist speculated that Munch might have seen a mummy in Florence's Museum of Natural History which bears an even more striking resemblance to the painting.<ref> (waybacked mirror)</ref>

==Thefts==
<!-- This section is linked from Munch Museum -->

right|thumb|250px|Thieves taking paintings from the Munch Museum, August 2004. Photo taken by unidentified bystander.

On Lillehammer, four men broke into the National Gallery and stole its version of ''Scream'', leaving a note reading "Thanks for the poor security".<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A06E6DF1E39F93BA25752C0A960958260
|title=4 Norwegians Guilty In Theft of 'The Scream'
|publisher=AP
|date=1996-01-18
|accessdate=2006-08-31}}</ref> The painting had been moved down to a ground floor display as part of the Olympic festivities, and the presence of international media covering the games made the theft a sensation.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/12/newsid_3591000/3591994.stm
|title=On this day: Art thieves snatch ''Scream''
|publisher=BBC News Online
|date=1994-02-12
|accessdate=2006-08-31}}</ref> An early claim of responsibility by a Norwegian anti-abortion group turned out to be false. After the gallery refused a ransom demand of USD $1 million in March 1994, Norwegian police set up a sting operation with assistance from the British Police and the Getty Museum, and the painting was recovered undamaged on May 7 1994.<ref> </ref> In January 1996, four men were convicted in connection with the theft, including Pål Enger, who in 1988 had been convicted of stealing Munch's ''Vampire''.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/arttheft/story/0,,1505351,00.html
|title=Master plan
|publisher=Guardian Unlimited
|date=2005-06-13
|accessdate=2007-12-21}}</ref>

On Madonna''.<ref name="bbctheft"></ref> On April 8, 2005, Norwegian police arrested a suspect in connection with the theft, but the paintings remained missing, and it was rumored that they had been burned by the thieves to destroy evidence.<ref></ref><ref></ref> On June 1, 2005, with four suspects already in custody in connection with the crime, the City Government of Oslo offered a reward of 2 million Norwegian kroner (about 250,000 euro) for information that could help locate the paintings.<ref></ref> Though the paintings remained at large, six men went on trial in early 2006, variously charged with either assisting to plan or execute the robbery. Three of the men were convicted and sentenced to between four and eight years in prison in May of 2006, and two of the convicted, Bjørn Hoen and Petter Tharaldsen, were also ordered to pay compensation of 750 million kroner (US $122 million) to the City of Oslo.<ref></ref> The Munch Museum itself was closed for 10 months for a $6 million security overhaul.

On August 31, 2006, Norwegian police announced that a police operation had recovered both ''Scream'' and ''Madonna'', but did not reveal detailed circumstances of the recovery. The paintings were said to be in a better-than-expected condition. "We are 100 percent certain they are the originals," police chief Iver Stensrud told a news conference. "The damage was much less than feared."<ref></ref><ref></ref> Munch Museum director Ingebjørg Ydstie confirmed the condition of the paintings, saying it was much better than expected and that the damage could be repaired.<ref></ref> ''The Scream'' had moisture damage on the lower left corner, while ''Madonna'' suffered several tears on the right side of the painting as well as two holes in Madonna's arm.<ref></ref> Before repairs and restoration began, the paintings were put on public display by the Munch Museum beginning September 27 2006. During the five-day exhibition, 5500 people viewed the damaged paintings. The conserved works went back on display on May 23, 2008, when the exhibition "Scream and Madonna--Revisited" at the Munch Museum in Oslo displayed the paintings together.<ref>[http://www.munch.museum.no/exhibitions.aspx?id=142&mid=&lang=en Munch Museum]</ref> Some damage to "The Scream" may prove impossible to repair, but the overall integrity of the work has not been compromised.<ref name="munchMuseum"></ref><ref></ref>