Francesca Albini

So iconic is the image of The Scream that in our modern times it has become an emoji, as one of the most common human expressions. But pick up your mobile phone now and look at the icon: the character’s hands are pressed against the cheeks, as we usually do when in shock or screaming in fright. In Edvard Munch’s picture, the hands are over the ears, as if to block – or amplify? – a sound. The person depicted is hearing, not necessarily producing, a scream. Puzzled? Who was th