Expressionist art expresses subjective emotion, inner experience and spiritual themes rather than realistic depictions of people or nature. Paint is typically applied with intense, non-naturalistic colour and free, heavily textured brushwork, with forms distorted rather than observed as they naturally appear. The movement is most closely associated with the German groups Die Brucke and Der Blaue Reiter, whose artists included Wassily Kandinsky.
Facts
Disputed
End YearNo single agreed end date. The movement declined in Germany through the 1930s as the Nazi regime rose to power, and 1937 marks the Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art) exhibition in Munich that formally suppressed it there, though Expressionist work continued elsewhere and after. Founded In PlaceDresden, Germany, where the students' group Die Brucke (The Bridge) was founded in 1905 1 Key PrincipleArt was meant to come forth from within the artist rather than from a depiction of the external visual world. 1 Connections
Expressed In
Influenced By
Van Gogh and Munchs emotionally charged Post-Impressionist and Symbolist-adjacent work directly shaped the emergence of Expressionism.
Movement Members
Composition VII, Works Kandinsky painted Composition VII in Munich in 1913 while a founding member of Der Blaue Reiter, the group whose almanac and exhibitions helped define German Expressionism.
Source Wikipedia
Central Austrian Expressionist painter.
South African Expressionist painter.
Closely associated with German Expressionism.
Canonical German Expressionist silent film.
Founding member of Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider), the Munich-based group whose 1911-1912 almanac and exhibitions helped define German Expressionism.
Source Wikipedia
Sources
1. TheArtStory
The Art Story FoundationExpressionism, Summary of Expressionism section
The movement began in 1905 when four German architecture students...formed Die Brucke (The Bridge) in Dresden, Germany.
Expressionism, Key Ideas and Accomplishments section
Art was now meant to come forth from within the artist, rather than from a depiction of the external visual world.
View the Source 2. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationExpressionism, opening section
Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century.
Expressionism, Etymology and history section
German Expressionism
Expressionism, Etymology and history section; In the United States section
the movement declined in Germany with the rise of Adolf Hitler in the 1930s, there were subsequent expressionist works...It was not until the Munich exhibition 'Entartete Kunst' in 1937 that a drastic shift occurred
Influenced By: Fauvism, Expressionism, In Germany and Austria section
They were also aware of the work being done by the Fauves in Paris, who influenced Expressionism's tendency toward arbitrary colours and jarring compositions.
Movement Members: Wassily Kandinsky, Wassily Kandinsky, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassily_Kandinsky
generally credited as one of the pioneers of abstraction in Western art
- Movement Members: Composition VII, Wassily Kandinsky, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassily_Kandinsky
Movement Members: The Scream, The Scream, Wikipedia infobox, Movement field
Proto-Expressionism
View the Source Tate
Tate, United KingdomArt Terms: ExpressionismQuote, Art Terms: Expressionism
Expressionist art refers to the expression of subjective emotions, inner experiences and spiritual themes, as opposed to realistic depictions of people or nature. In expressionist painting, colours may appear intense and non-naturalistic, forms become distorted, brushwork is typically free and paint application tends to be generous and highly textured.
Frequently Asked Questions
What German groups defined Expressionism?
Die Brucke and Der Blaue Reiter, whose artists included Wassily Kandinsky, are the two groups most closely associated with the movement. Expressionist art expresses subjective emotion, inner experience and spiritual themes rather than realistic depiction, typically through intense, non-naturalistic color and free, heavily textured brushwork, with forms distorted rather than observed as they naturally appear.
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