Picture Parade: Terrifying Art by Well-Known Contemporary Artists

The Scream (1893) by Edvard Munch

Several famous artists are known for some particularly terrifying works.  Among the most recognizable of these creations are those by painters Hieronymus Bosch and William Blake.  For a truly spine-tingling slideshow featuring a number of scary paintings spanning centuries, watch this video on YouTube (definitely not for the squeamish!).  I was curious as to whether more contemporary well-known artists have produced works that embrace a dark theme.  Just about everyone is probably familiar with Edvard Munch's disturbing painting called The Scream shown above, but I was interested to find that many recent artists have also created a weird work or two, and a few of the names may surprise you.  Here are some of my findings:

Skull with Burning Cigarette (1885) by Vincent van Gogh

Indian Warrior (1931) by Diego Rivera

Guernica (1937) by Pablo Picasso

Vanitas (1939) by Georges Braque

The Face of War (1940) by Salvador Dali

The Dream (1940) by Frida Kahlo

Head with Broken Pot (1942) by Georgia O'Keeffe

Right triptych from Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion (1944) by Francis Bacon

House of Stairs (1951) by M. C. Escher

The Wonders of Nature (1953) by René Magritte

Cain and Abel (1960) by Marc Chagall

Frida Kahlo and René Magritte painted even more horrific art than the ones I posted, but I decided they were a bit too gruesome to show here, so just click on the links with their names if you feel the need to check those paintings out.  Some of the works shown above are frightening, others just a bit bizarre, but all of them have aspects that make them ideal for an art collection worthy of Halloween!