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Expressionist Figurative Paintings

EXPRESSIONIST STYLE

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.

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Style: Expressionist
Running Man 1 by Katya Tsareva - Triptych painting, acrylic on canvas, 2017
Located in Basel, BS
Running Man 1 is a vertical triptych, formed of 3 paintings, 40 x 50 cm each. The triptych can be seen as a follow-up on Katya Tsareva's 2016 project "S...
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Gaukler Familie mit Instrumenten (Family of Jesters with Instruments)
Located in Washington, DC
German Modernist
Category

1960s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Expressionist Figurative water color painting- Luckiness
Located in Beijing, CN
Expressionist Figurative water color painting by Zhang Chunyang Title: Luckiness Dimension: 29 x 36 cm Material: Gouache, Watercolor on Paper D...
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Watercolor, Handmade Paper

Expressionist Figurative water color painting- Series The Horse Whisper No.2-25
Located in Beijing, CN
Expressionist Figurative water color painting by Zhang Chunyang Series The Horse Whisper No.2-25 Dimension: 29 x 36 cm Material: Gouache, Watercolor on Paper Date: 2013 Artist B...
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache, Watercolor, Handmade Paper

Nude Dancer Burlesque Stripper with Purple Gloves - The Bump -
Located in Miami, FL
A gritty Burlesque Stripper with long purple gloves bumps and grinds with a hard-driving beat. American Social Realist artist Jack Levine paints this se...
Category

1970s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Charcoal, Oil, Board

Ensemble
Located in ATLANTA, GA
Jean-Louis Mendrisse is a self-taught painter born in 1955 in Clermont-Ferrand. Art, family affairs Jean-Louis Mendrisse studied the deal with his famous sculptor father, Jean Mos...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Patrick Boudon. Inner Family. Post-war Expressionism. 1970s.
Located in Firenze, IT
Patrick Boudon. Inner Family. Post-war Expressionism. 1970s. Patrick Boudon. Art Informel. Ecole de Paris. Technique: oil on cardboard. This painting by Patrick Boudon from the 197...
Category

1970s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Cardboard

Fortitude
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure FREE Shipping Worldwide Ships in a well-protected tube. This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. A di...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

"6.5 Koi 23" Bright Red & White Koi Swimming in Swirls of Blue Water with Green
Located in Wellesley, MA
"6.5 Koi 23" is a complex work of koi fish swimming underwater filled with light and brilliant color painted in a lush and fluid style bordering on abstraction. Fish are in shades...
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Waterfall 4" Sparkly White Waterfall, Bright Blue Water & Koi Swimming Below
Located in Wellesley, MA
"Waterfall 4" is a complex work of koi fish swimming underwater filled with light and brilliant color painted in a lush and fluid style bordering on abstraction. Fish are in shade...
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

"Portrait Boy" Oil Painting 14.5" x 20" inch (1930) by Shaaban Zaki
Located in Culver City, CA
"Portrait Boy" Oil Painting 14.5" x 20" inch (1930) by Shaaban Zaki signed & dated Shaaban Zaki came from a lower-middle-class family who was mostly government employees, but he wa...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

"Iva" Oil Painting 39" x 39" inch by Andrey Remnev
Located in Culver City, CA
"Iva" Oil Painting 39" x 39" inch by Andrey Remnev ARTIST BIO: "My birth place is Yakhroma town, in the vicinity of Moscow. It is situated on high hills, from where broad Bruegelian vistas are open. The uneven terrain with significant differences of high and low; a canal between the Moskva river and the Volga; small rivers, woods and villages; a nearby ancient town of Dmitrov, which is equal to Moscow in age; ships cruising the canal and trains outdistancing them – all this I saw from my window since my early years. It was a view that embraced all the diversity of the world. This is why I can say that the impressions of my childhood and youth – beautiful nature and remarkable people – are the most important ones. In the museum of Moscow's St. Andronic Monastery I copied the best examples of the old Russian painting...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

"Twins" Oil Painting 35" x 24" inch by Sergey Dolmatov
Located in Culver City, CA
"Twins" Oil Painting 35" x 24" inch by Sergey Dolmatov
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Dance Moves, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
The painting captures a lively scene where a group of people dances joyfully, lost in the music with closed eyes. Their vibrant clothing and fluid movements inf...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

The Yellow Bouquet seated female figure with flowers soft yellow and pink
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Seated woman in a pink suit strong yet warm color consistent with the artist's palette. It is painted on jute a coarse type of burlap mounted on a cradled wood board . Framing recomm...
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Wood, Oil, Jute

Figurative Acrylic Canvas Painting American
Located in Buffalo, NY
One of a kind acrylic expressionist canvas painting by Linda Coppola.
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Figurative Acrylic Canvas Painting American
Located in Buffalo, NY
One of a kind acrylic expressionist canvas painting by Linda Coppola.
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Figurative Acrylic Canvas Painting American
Located in Buffalo, NY
One of a kind acrylic expressionist canvas painting by Linda Coppola. The figures have multiple forms. Are they human, or are they rabbit?
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Crowning Glory (Beauty Within Us)
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure FREE Shipping Worldwide Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authent...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Blooming Grace
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure FREE Shipping Worldwide Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authent...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Hugó Scheiber Pastel "Sailing", about 1930
Located in Berlin, DE
Pastel and carbon pencil on cardboard, ca. 1930 by Hugo Scheiber. Signed lower left: Scheiber H. Dimensions: 14.96 x 12.99 in ( 38 x 33 cm ), Framed: 19.69 x 15.75 in ( 50 x 40 cm ) ...
Category

Early 20th Century Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Pastel, Cardboard, Carbon Pencil

Rhetoric 2
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure FREE Shipping Worldwide Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authent...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Man 29 original figurative drawing painting
Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL
Man. original figurative drawing painting. virtual frame Barcelona, 1904 - Barcelona, 1965 It was formed in Buenos Aires, in the Circle of San Lucas of Barcelona and the FAD. He wa...
Category

1960s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Carbon Pencil

Coll Bardolet 24 Bolero Mallorquin original expressionist watercolor painting
Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL
Bolero Mallorquin original expressionist watercolor painting. virtual frame Spanish painter maximum representative of the art of Mallorca at the end of the 20th century. Costumbrista...
Category

1990s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

Woman with Red Hair
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Baron Robert Heinrich Freiherr von Doblhoff (1880 Vienna - 1960 ibid.) Woman with Red Hair Ink and watercolor on paper, image measures 6.25 x 7.25 inches; 12.75 x 13.5 inches fra...
Category

Early 20th Century Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Ink, Watercolor

Nude at the Window Overlooking Sacré-Coeur
Located in London, GB
'Nude at the Window Overlooking Sacré-Coeur', oil on paper mounted on canvas, by Louis Latapie (circa 1930s). Although later in Latapie's career he embraced cubism and abstraction, t...
Category

1930s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Paper, Canvas

Insatiable Cravings
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure FREE Shipping Worldwide Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authent...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Lost is a Lovely Place to Find Yourself
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
I realized nobody is coming to save you unless you save yourself! Light at the end of the tunnel awaits only those who dare to try again each time they fail Shipping Procedure Ships...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Coll Bardolet Typical Mallorcan Dance. original expressionist acrylic painting
Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL
BOLERO. original expressionist acrylic painting. framed Spanish painter maximum representative of the art of Mallorca at the end of the 20th century. Costumbrista work. With differe...
Category

Early 2000s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Wood, Acrylic

Like Basquiat in the Midst
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure FREE Shipping Worldwide Ships in a well-protected tube. This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. Abou...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Man in the Hood
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure FREE Shipping Worldwide Ships in a well-protected tube. This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. Abou...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

Nantes Seaport
By Robert L.P. Lavoine
Located in Pasadena, CA
Robert L. P. Lavoine is a French painter born in 1916 and dead in 1999. Known for his sea landscapes and urban landscapes, he is associated with the expressionist current of the twe...
Category

Mid-20th Century Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Calabaza (Pumpkin). Expressionist still-life. Colorful Orange, yelow, turquoise.
Located in Segovia, ES
Calabaza (Pumpkin) . Oil on canvas by Spanish artist Chico Montilla. Measurements: (H) 116x (W) 81 x 2 (D) cm. Framed 139 x 104 x 4.5 cm. Colorful expressionist still-life. Beautif...
Category

Early 1900s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

San Antonio
Located in Segovia, ES
San Antonio . Oil on canvas by Spanish artist Chico Montilla. Measurements: (H) 65 x (W) 81 x 2 (D) cm. Framed 85 x 101 x 5 cm. San Antonio, another expressionist view of the countr...
Category

Early 1900s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Barranco del Noi (Almuñecar). Expressionist landscape.
Located in Segovia, ES
"Barranco del Noi" (Almuñecar) . Oil on canvas by Spanish artist Chico Montilla. Measurements: (H) 81 x (W) 100 x 2 (D) cm. Framed 104 x 123 x 6 cm. The Noi ravine, in Almuñecar, G...
Category

Early 1900s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Sail away with me
Located in London, GB
Artist: Olga Volha Piashko "Sails”120x80x2 cm Acrilyc on canvas. hand signed unframed A world of energy and vibration, of subtle nuances and hidden dimensions. It is a world tha...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic, Cotton Canvas

From Somewhere Deep Inside
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure FREE Shipping Worldwide Ships in a well-protected tube. This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. Abou...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Bouquet of Peonies with blue background
Located in New York, NY
This painting is in excellent condition with no cracks in the paint, it is not relined and the canvas has been cleaned and in excellent condition. It also has a new 23 K. gold leaf ...
Category

1960s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Family Seated on a Bench at the Port
Located in London, GB
'Family Seated on a Bench at the Port', oil on board, by François Diana (circa 1970s). A painting with a very wholesome, homespun theme harks back to a more innocent time. A family i...
Category

1970s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Reality Isn't What It Used To Be
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure FREE Shipping Worldwide Ships in a well-protected tube. This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. Peop...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Reunion" Expressionist Figurative Man and Woman
Located in Austin, TX
By Pep Suari 32" x 39.5" Acrylic on Linen This figurative expressionist painting by Pep Suari depicts a man and a woman looking at each other with flowers between them. The colors o...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Linen, Acrylic

Narcisos
Located in Segovia, ES
"Narcisos" . Oil on canvas by Spanish artist Chico Montilla. Measurements: (H) 81 x (W) 100 x 2 (D) cm. Framed 104 x 123 x 6 cm. Colorful expressionist still-life with daffodil flow...
Category

Early 1900s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Orquídea (Orchid)
Located in Segovia, ES
Expressionist interior corner that has an orchid as its protagonist. Predominant chromaticism between fuchsia-pink and yellow. Oil on linen by Spanish artist Chico Montilla. Beautifu...
Category

Early 2000s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

Agbeke Spotted Again
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure FREE Shipping Worldwide Ships in a well-protected tube. This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. Abou...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

As Far As You Can See
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure FREE Shipping Worldwide Ships in a well-protected tube. This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. 'As ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

Peace and Tranquility 2
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure FREE Shipping Worldwide Ships in a well-protected tube. This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. Abou...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Man original figurative drawing painting
Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL
Man. original figurative drawing painting. virtual frame Barcelona, 1904 - Barcelona, 1965 It was formed in Buenos Aires, in the Circle of San Lucas of Barcelona and the FAD. He wa...
Category

1960s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Carbon Pencil

Flower Intrigue-original impressionism figurative oil painting-contemporary Art
Located in London, Chelsea
"Flower Intrigue" by Iryna Yermolova is a mesmerizing abstract floral figurative painting that seamlessly merges the beauty of nature with the grace of the human form. Executed with ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

In Love - original abstract figurative water painting - contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
"Reading a Book" by Irina Yermolova is an enchanting depiction of freedom and serenity, embodied by a female figure gracefully floating in tranquil waters. Painted with warm orange-r...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Reading - original abstract figurative female form painting - contemporary art
Located in London, Chelsea
"Reading a Book" by Irina Yermolova captures the essence of pondering and wonderment through the graceful depiction of a woman laid horizontally in a classic life drawing position, h...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Bird Trainers seated male standing female figure white tropical bird hot color
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Surrealistic, stylized magic realism oil painting of oversize bird and 2 people
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Expressionist Judaica French Israeli Modernist Art Oil Painting Rabbi, Musician
Located in Surfside, FL
This is a bright, colorful oil painting of a Hasidic Musician in the the holy city of Jerusalem, Israel 1972, Oil on canvas, 29 X 26 inches Hand signed and dated. George Cheme...
Category

1970s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

In a small town. 1969, paper, watercolor, 36x48 cm
Located in Riga, LV
In a small town. 1969, paper, watercolor, 36x48 cm Dzidra Bauma (1930) Dzidra Bauma works in watercolor technique. She paint figural compositions, portraits, landscapes, flowers an...
Category

1960s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

My Happy Place
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
I believe this work of Art would remind viewers about their warm childhood, give them a rekindled desire to live, and find comfort in the people surrounding them. We all need a reaso...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Le port de Sète (South of France) - Oil on canvas, 66x92 cm., framed
Located in Nice, FR
Oil on Canvas by François Desnoyer, not framed. It depictes the port at Sète, in Occitanie, France. François Desnoyer, né à Montauban (Tarn-et-Garonne) le 30 septembre 1894, et mort...
Category

1950s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

In Her Prime
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. About Artist Ogu...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Lingering
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Lingering" is an artwork that captures the essence of anticipation and longing. It portrays a seated woman, elegantly dressed in an orange gown, engrossed in her thoughts as she eage...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Self Portrait
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Jirayr Zorthian(1911-2004), went through two Turkish massacres before age eight. He left Turkey at age nine with his family and spent a year in Padua, Italy, waiting for his visa to...
Category

1950s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Expressionist figurative paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Expressionist figurative paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add figurative paintings created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, purple, orange, red and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Evelyne Ballestra, Julien Wolf, Stephen Basso, and Bernard Harmon. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Oil Paint and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Expressionist figurative paintings, so small editions measuring 1 inches across are also available.

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