The mystery involving an inscription on Edvard Munch’s 1893 masterpiece The Scream has been solved.

The identity of the writer of the caption has been a point of debate for years.

Many believed it was penned by a disgruntled viewer. The caption reads “Could only have been painted by a madman.”

Curators at the Norway museum of art, architecture and design say that the inscription was written by Munch himself.

“It’s been examined now very carefully, letter by letter, and word by word, and it’s identical in every way to Munch’s handwriting,” said museum curator of old masters and modern paintings, Mai Britt Guleng.

Guleng says she believes it was written with irony over accusations that Munch was mentally ill at the time.

The image of a figure cradling its head in its hands with its mouth open has become a global icon for human anxiety.