The 1893 tempera version of “The Scream” measures 91 × 73.5 centimeters in height by width.
This is the best-known painted version of Munch’s composition, created on cardboard using oil, tempera, pastel, and crayon. It is often casually called the “tempera version,” but its materials are mixed rather than limited to tempera paint alone.
The dimensions help distinguish this work from Munch’s other versions. He produced four principal versions: two painted works, from 1893 and 1910, and two pastel versions, from 1893 and 1895. Their sizes and media differ, even though they share the same central image of a figure overwhelmed by anguish.
The 1893 painting is also the version with the barely visible pencil inscription about a madman. It belongs to the National Museum in Oslo, while the 1910 painted version is associated with the Munch Museum. Rounding the measurement to 91 × 73 can therefore lose a useful identifying detail.