Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
While “expressionist” is used to describe any art that avoids naturalism and instead employs a bold use of flattened forms and intense brushwork, Expressionist art formally describes early-20th-century work from Europe that drew on Symbolism and confronted issues such as urbanization and capitalism. Expressionist artists experimented in paintings and prints with skewed perspectives, abstraction and unconventional, bright colors to portray how isolating and anxious the world felt rather than how it appeared.
Between 1905 and 1920, Austrian and German artists, in particular, were inspired by Postimpressionists such as Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh in their efforts to strive for a new authenticity in their work. In its geometric patterns and decorative details, Expressionist art was also marked by eclectic sources like German and Russian folk art as well as tribal art from Africa and Oceania, which the movement’s practitioners witnessed at museums and world’s fairs.
Groups of artists came together to share and promote the themes now associated with Expressionism, such as Die Brücke (The Bridge) in Dresden, which included Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and investigated alienation and the dissolution of society in vivid color. In Munich, Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider), a group led by Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc, instilled Expressionism with a search for spiritual truths. In his iconic painting The Scream, prolific Norwegian painter Edvard Munch conveyed emotional turmoil through his depiction of environmental elements, such as the threatening sky.
Expressionism shifted around the outbreak of World War I, with artists using more elements of the grotesque in reaction to the escalation of unrest and violence. Printmaking was especially popular, as it allowed artists to widely disseminate works that grappled with social and political issues amid this time of upheaval. Although the art movement ended with the rise of Nazi Germany, where Expressionist creators were labeled “degenerate,” the radical ideas of these artists would influence Neo-Expressionism that emerged in the late 1970s with painters like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Francesco Clemente.
Find a collection of authentic Expressionist paintings, sculptures, prints and more art on 1stDibs.
Mid-20th Century Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Oil Crayon
Late 20th Century Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Oil Pastel
1940s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
1920s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Gouache
Late 20th Century Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Oil Pastel
1930s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Charcoal, Graphite
1940s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Watercolor
1950s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Gouache
1970s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Gouache
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Ink, Acrylic
1960s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Archival Paper, Pastel
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Mixed Media
1960s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Gouache
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Mixed Media
1950s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Mixed Media
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Mixed Media
1930s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Crayon
1950s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Mixed Media
Late 20th Century Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Watercolor
Early 20th Century Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pastel
1980s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Charcoal, Canvas
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Canvas, Pastel, Ink
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Oil
1920s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Charcoal, Ink
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Oil, Paper
1970s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pastel
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Oil
1960s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Watercolor
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel, India Ink, Cardboard
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel, India Ink, Cardboard
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel, India Ink, Cardboard
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel, India Ink, Cardboard
1930s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Archival Paper, Watercolor
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel, India Ink, Cardboard
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel, India Ink, Cardboard
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel, India Ink, Cardboard
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel, Cardboard, Oil
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Oil, Cardboard, Pastel
1940s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pastel
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pastel
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel, Cardboard, India Ink
1950s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Pastel, Cardboard, Ink
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pastel
2010s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Pastel
1950s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
1940s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
1950s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
1960s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
1950s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Ink
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Acrylic
1960s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
1940s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
1960s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor
1910s Expressionist Portrait Drawings and Watercolors
Wax Crayon, Cardboard