Expressionism in Art: 3 Characteristics of Expressionist Art

Expressionism was an art movement that gained esteem in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Much of the Expressionist movement originated in Germany, and German Expressionism fed similar developments throughout Northern Europe and eventually the world.

Visual arts Expressionism was never a unified movement. Expressionist painting includes works grouped with Surrealism, Symbolism, Futurism, Fauvism, Cubism, Vorticism, and Dadaism. In many ways, the movement was a reaction to Impressionism and post-Impressionism.

The notion of Expressionist art was fluid and loosely defined during the era in which it existed. Still, several figures and philosophies stand out within the Expressionist period.

• Nineteenth-century churn: The end of the nineteenth century saw rapid change and evolution in all forms of Western art. The prevailing painting style among European intelligentsia was Impressionism, but some European art showed signs of a more stark, emotive style. The Norwegian painter Edvard Munch exemplified this shift with his seminal work The Scream (1893).
• German leadership: As new forms of art emerged near the turn of the twentieth century, Germany became a hotbed of innovation. A collective of four German artists called Die Brücke (The Bridge) formed in Dresden in 1905. Painter and printmaker Ernst Ludwig Kirchner led the group, which notably did not use the term Expressionism when describing itself. In 1911, a collective called Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) formed in Munich, taking its name from a 1903 painting by the Russian Wassily Kandinsky, who was himself a member of the collective. Der Blaue Reiter also featured the Swiss Paul Klee, and Germans Franz Marc and Auguste Macke. Other notable German Expressionists from this time include Emil Nolde, Max Beckmann, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Erich Heckel, Fritz Bleyl, Otto Dix, and Käthe Kollwitz.
• Expansion beyond Germany: While German Expressionists led the new movement, they were not alone in its embrace. Austrian artists Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka, Americans Stuart Davis and Max Weber, and Russians Marc Chagall and Alexej von Jawlensky have been associated with the Expressionist art movement.
• Dissolution into other styles: Expressionism remained fashionable in German art following World War I when the nation was known as the Weimar Republic. However, the nation (and Europe at large) suffered economically, which paved the way for totalitarianism, jingoism, and eventually the Holocaust. When the Nazis rose to power in Germany and when Stalin seized control of the USSR, European art became more overtly symbolist and nationalistic. Although Expressionism would later re-manifest in styles such as Neo-Expressionism and Abstract Expressionism, the turn-of-the-century movement had ended.

Expressionist art stood out from its predecessors in three notable ways.

1. 1. Strong brushstrokes: While many nineteenth-century Impressionists and Post-Impressionists made their name with short, detailed brushwork, Expressionist artists embraced bolder strokes and geometric shapes.
2. 2. Stark forms: Many Expressionist painters had backgrounds in printmaking and woodcuts. They applied the craft of these media to their painting, creating stark figures that at times toed the line of two-dimensionality. This connected Expressionism to the Fauvism of Henri Matisse and the Cubism of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque.
3. 3. Subjectivity: Impressionism sought to reduce concrete objects to more elemental colors and shapes. Expressionism went further by layering on the artist’s subjective perspective. Expressionist art focuses less on scenes as they exist in reality and more on how they exist in the mind of the artist.

Expressionism and Abstract Expressionism are two distinct art movements with notable differences.

• Time period: Expressionism took place during a period from the 1890s through World War I. Abstract Expressionist art rose in prominence after World War II.
• Style: American art critic Robert Coates popularized the term "abstract expressionism” after he and other art critics noticed the works of the 1940s were more stark, primitive, and symbolistic than the Expressionist works that predated them.
• Geographic origins: Unlike leading Expressionists, who largely hailed from Germany, France, and Austria, Abstract Expressionists mostly came from America—particularly New York City.

Four notable paintings offer a snapshot of Expressionist art.

1. 1. Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) by Wassily Kandinsky (1903): This painting, which shares its name with the German art collective Kandinsky belonged to, offers a bridge between the meticulous brushwork of Impressionism and the subjective imagery of the nascent Expressionist movement. This painting from early in his career features softer brushstrokes and a pastoral setting, revealing influences from the nineteenth-century Impressionist masters. Kandinsky later favored more rigid, symbolist, two-dimensional representations that better aligned with avant-garde Abstract Expressionists.
2. 2. Portrait of Eduard Kosmack by Egon Schiele (1910): This stark, primitive, nearly two-dimensional portrait shows a radical break with past traditions.
3. 3. Die grossen blauen Pferde (The Large Blue Horses) by Franz Marc (1911): Exhibiting oversized forms and highly pigmented colors that recall Fauvist master Henri Matisse, this German Expressionist work abandons a real-world color palette for one imagined by the artist.
4. 4. March of the Weavers by Käthe Kollwitz (1898): Käthe Kollwitz was an important female Expressionist artist in a movement dominated by men. This etching with aquatint and sandpaper offers a dramatic scene of Czech and Polish weavers attempting a revolt in 1844.

Grab the MasterClass Annual Membership and plumb the depths of your creativity with the help of modern artist Jeff Koons, abstract artist Futura, and stage designer Es Devlin. Our exclusive video lessons will teach you to do things like utilize color and scale, explore the beauty in everyday objects, and so much more.