Edvard Munch drew inspiration from his vivid audio and visual hallucinations to create his most famous painting, “The Scream.”  While there is no denying that this quintessential piece of art was largely a result of the experiences he endured while living with bipolar disorder, it is important to ask what could have been created had he been diagnosed and undergone some type of therapy or treatment.

    To further illustrate this, one must look at the creative process in its entirety.  While “The Scream” was inspired by a singular hallucination of Munch’s, it’s concept was developed over a period of almost two years.  This is largely because “despite a given artist’s mental illness… creative production is carried out by healthy mental processes during periods of lowered symptom activity and anxiety" (Rothengerg).  Only during this period of greater mental stability could Edvard Munch develop his experience into nuanced and conceptual art.  Great art is therefore not the result of an artist’s suffering. Great art results in spite of the artist’s suffering.