To me, most art is out there to evoke a visceral reaction. So don’t think too long & hard about what it’s representing & come up with something totally opposite your first response. Sometimes a scream is just a scream. Although, to me the little girl’s scream of joy in the Disney commercial with the flying elephants does look something like this.

Artists of this period chose colors, composition and style of execution carefully to try and evoke unversal emotional responses. In Trent’s case, the artist’s intent is disregarded in favor of a new interpretation. That’s legit, but…

That says more to me about the interpreter than the painting- that a universally accepted image of horror be re-cast as joy seems in line with someone hell-bent on seeing the world through rose-colored glasses, abounding with relentless positivity, and a dismissiveness of negative emotions, that I would find, frankly, exhausting to be around. At least that’s how I interpret it!

I found the following quote attributed to the artist:

“I was walking along a path with two friends—the sun was setting—suddenly the sky turned blood red—I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence—there was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city—my friends walked on, and I stood there trembling with anxiety—and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature.”

So, not so joyful.

Appearance really does matter.

The Master had the same view as Thoreau when he wrote:

The ant has made himself illustrious
Through constant industry industrious.
So what? Would you be calm and placid
If you were full of formic acid?