The mysterious white splatters on Edvard Munch’s The Scream painting held by the Norwegian National Museum have been identified as wax, not bird droppings as some had previously thought.

Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream is one of the most well-known works of art in the world, but experts have long been puzzled over mysterious white marks on the one held by the Norwegian National Museum. 

Many believed the marks were bird droppings, as Munch was known to enjoy painting outside. 

According to news release from the University of Antwerp, “The painting entered the National Museum's collection directly from the artist's studio and the white splatters have always been present.” 

It goes on to say, “All of this resulted in a theory that Munch would have left the Scream outside and that birds flying by literally added another layer of meaning to Munch's Masterpiece.” 

However, critics pointed out, in part, that the white material didn’t seem as corrosive as excrement is known to be. 

So a team conducted tests and eventually discovered through a sample analysis that the substance was not bird matter but wax. 

In fact, the release hypothesizes that the white spots are “splatters of molten wax that accidently dripped from a candle in Munch's studio.”