Expressionism

Expressionism

• Expressionism is an 20th-century art movement that uses distortion, strong color, and exaggerated forms to express inner emotion and psychological experience, rather than realistic appearance.

• Rough brushwork and simplified forms.

• Themes often include:

  • Anxiety

  • Alienation

  • Suffering

  • Spiritual crisis

Expressionism vs expressionism

Expressionism (capital “E”)

• A German-based movement in the early 20th century.

• Uses colour, distortion, and form to express:

  • Emotion

  • Psychology

  • Spirituality

• Opposes Impressionism, which focused on outward visual sensations.

expressionism (lowercase “e”)

• Any art that distorts reality to express deeper meaning.

• Seen earlier in artists like Van Gogh and Munch.

Pre-expressionists (lowercase e)

Vincent van Gogh is classified as a Post-Impressionist, but his emotionally charged use of color, distortion, and brushwork makes him a key precursor to Expressionism with its post impressionism works: The Night Cafe, The Potato Eaters and Self-Portrait (1889).

Edvard Munch – The Scream (1893)

Iconic image of anxiety and existential fear

• Distorted figure and landscape

• Universal emotional terror

• Inner scream made visible

Käthe Kollwitz Need (1893–1901) LITHOGRAPHY

• Poverty and suffering

• Social injustice

• Expressive line and dark mood

Mother with Dead Child (1903) ETCHING

• Raw grief and despair

• No idealization

• Emotional truth over beauty

Der Brücke - German Expressionism

Die Brücke" (The Bridge) was a pivotal German Expressionist art group, formed by four architecture students (Kirchner, Heckel, Schmidt-Rottluff, Bleyl), aiming to build a "bridge" to a new artistic future by rejecting academic tradition.

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

• Untitled (woodcuts, 1906)

  • Rough lines, primitive energy

• Street, Berlin (1913)

  • Urban alienation, anxiety, sharp angles

• Still Life with Jug and African Bowl (1912)

  • Non-Western influence, distorted forms

• Self-Portrait with Model (1907/26)

  • Sexual tension, psychological discomfort

• Self-Portrait as a Soldier (1915)

  • Trauma of WWI, loss of identity

Der Brücke - German Expressionism (Continued)

Erich Heckel – Portrait of a Man (1919) WOODCUT

• Woodcut technique

• Simplified, mask-like face

• Emotional directness

Emil Nolde

• Young Couple (1913) LITHOGRAPH

  • Emotional tension through color

• The Prophet (1912) WOODCUT

  • Rough woodcut style

  • Spiritual intensity

  • Primitive, direct expression

Der Blaue Reiter - German Expressionism

Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) was a German Expressionist artists' group, formed by Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc, focused on expressing spiritual truths through abstraction, vibrant colors, and symbolic form.

Wassily Kandinsky

• Der Blaue Reiter Almanac (1912)

  • Theory + art + spirituality

• With Sun (1910)

  • Abstract symbolism

• Improvisation 28 (1912)

  • Emotion expressed through color & line

• Yellow, Red, Blue (1925(

  • Fully abstract emotional balance

Franz Marc – Large Blue Horses (1912)

• Animals as spiritual symbols

• Blue = spirituality

• Harmony between nature and emotion

Expressionism in Austria

Egon Schiele

• Self-Portrait with Chinese Lantern Plant (1912)

• Portrait of Wally Neuzil (1912)

• Seated Male Nude (1910)

• The Hermits (1912)

Characteristics:

• Distorted bodies

• Sexual tension

• Existential anxiety

• Raw psychological exposure

Oskar Kokoschka – Self-Portrait of a Degenerate Artist (1937)

• Painted under Nazi persecution

• Expression of isolation and defiance

• Art as personal resistance

Expressionism & the Nazis

Degenerate Art Exhibition (1937)

• Nazis labeled modern art as “degenerate”

• Expressionism targeted and confiscated

• Massive art theft and destruction

• Artists censored, exiled, or silenced