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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- 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

Watercolor, Gouache, Handmade Paper

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

Watercolor, Gouache, Handmade Paper

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

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

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

"Pharaoh Group" Oil Painting 13" x 17" inch (1955) by Shaaban Zaki
Located in Culver City, CA
"Pharaoh Group" Oil Painting 13" x 17" inch (1955) by Shaaban Zaki Shaaban Zaki came from a lower-middle-class family who was mostly government employees, but he was distinguished f...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Wood, Oil

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

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

"Connection" 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

Acrylic, Linen

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

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

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

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

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

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

Invisible
Located in London, GB
Anastasia Kurakina's works on paper are the Vatican Museums collection since 2017 artist: Anastasia Kurakina One of a kind Hand signed Oil painting on canvas "The aspects of lif...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Oranges. Montilla Oil on canvas. Orange, Yelow, Fuchsia Expressionist Still-Life
Located in Segovia, ES
"Oranges" oil on canvas. Expressionist colorful still life. Measurements: (H) 61 x (W) 46 x (D) 2 cm. Framed: (H) 81 x (W) 66 x (D) 4 cm Expressionist still life with ...
Category

2010s 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

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

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

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

Le Violoniste - Expressionist Oil, Portrait of a Violinist by Jean Albert Pougny
Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Signed expressionist oil on canvas portrait circa 1942 by French painter Jean Albert Pougny. The work depicts a violinist in an interior. Signatur...
Category

1940s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Elegance
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

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

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

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

American Modernist Oil Painting Expressionist Vase, Flowers WPA Artist Ben ZIon
Located in Surfside, FL
Ben-Zion (1897-1987) Flower Piece with Black Vase Oil on board, Hand signed 'Ben-Zion ' lower right, with the artist 's label and label from Duveen-Graham gallery, NY. 16 x 7 3/4 i...
Category

Mid-20th Century Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Give Me the Truth, Not Roses
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
In the quest to find utopia, I realized the role of truth and honesty in society cannot be underemphasized. It takes a thousand lies to cover a truth and this could lead to damaging ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Chinese Shop Window, Lower East Side
Located in Lawrence, NY
Gouache and pastel on paper An artist whose work was simultaneously figurative and abstract, Brodie was praised as "one of the best painters of his generation" by art historian, Mey...
Category

1960s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil Pastel, Gouache

Coll Bardolet 44 Bolero Baile Mallorquin original expressionist watercolor
Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL
Bolero Mallorquin original expressionist watercolor painting. Spanish painter maximum representative of the art of Mallorca at the end of the 20th century. Costumbrista work. With d...
Category

1980s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

Raventos 36 Beethoven Mussic original expressionist mixed media painting
Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL
Beethoven original expressionist mixed media painting RAVENTÓS Mª Assumpció – (San Sadurní d’Anoia, Barcelona 1930). Raventos trained at the elite Sant Jordi School of Fine Arts in B...
Category

Early 2000s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media, Acrylic

Amedee de La PATELLIERE, Eclipse with 4 Characters, 1928
Located in Saint Amans des cots, FR
Oil on canvas by Amedee de La PATELLIERE, France, 1928. Eclipse with four characters. With frame: 63x54 cm - 24.8x21.25 inches ; without frame: 41x33 cm - 16.15x13 inches. Format 6F....
Category

1920s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Peace and Tranquility 1
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 (Issued by the Gal...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Series "The Imaginary traveler nº29" Expressionist corner with flowers and cat.
Located in Segovia, ES
Series "The Imaginary traveler nº29" Expressionist corner with flowers and cat. Oil on linen by Chico Montilla. Measurements: (H) 100 x (W) 81 x (D) 2 cm. Framed (H) 112 x (W) 93 ...
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

Until Tomorrow (Tan Yfory). South Wales Valleys. Mining. Miner End of Shift.
Located in Sutton Poyntz, Dorset
Elin Siân Blake. Welsh ( b.1981). Until Tomorrow (Tan Yfory). Oil on artist’s canvas board. Signed lower right. Image size 9.5 inches x 11.6 inches ( 24cm x 29.5cm ). Frame size 16....
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Pruna 6 Women Sketch for Bocaccio original watercolor painting
Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL
Pere Pruna Ocerans (Barcelona, ​​1904-1977) was a Catalan painter and illustrator of figurative style. In 1920, with only 17 years and hardly any academic training, he traveled to ...
Category

1970s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

Coll Bardolet 78 Bolero Baile Mallorquin original expressionist watercolor
Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL
Bolero Mallorquin original expressionist watercolor painting. Spanish painter maximum representative of the art of Mallorca at the end of the 20th century. Costumbrista work. With d...
Category

1980s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

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

'Passing By' by Mary Titus - Large Colorful Figurative Abstract Painting
Located in Carmel, CA
Mary Titus’s "Passing By" is an expressionist figurative work that captures the fleeting moments of life. Measuring 60" x 72", this acrylic on canvas features a shadowy figure traver...
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

"Margo Is A Real Drag After 10:30" Modern Expressionist Figurative
Located in Laguna Beach, CA
"Margo Is A Real Drag After 10:30 is from Sandra Jones Campbell's upcoming collection, "Nocturne," a series that displays her unique vision of the world and is informed by her curren...
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

"Donna con calze Rosse" Olio su cartone cm. 50 x 70 1984
Located in Torino, IT
Figura femminile con calze rosse Edgardo CORBELLI (Turin, 1918 - 1989) From the traditional composition of the 1930s, the painting of Corbelli leads to technical and expressive resu...
Category

1980s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Happy summer 25X30 oil, Valentine’s Day gifts art
Located in Sempach, LU
In this expressive oil on canvas, vibrant hues dance with light and energy, capturing the essence of a sun-soaked meadow. The figure embraces the warmth, surrounded by the jubilance ...
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

African Boy II
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
African Boy is a series of paintings by talented artist Faith Gbadero. This series of Artworks captures the response and attitudes of African young adults to the struggles and roller...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

Rhetoric
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
In the realm of discourse, rhetoric reigns, A symphony of words that stirs and strains. With a persuasive power, it paints the scene, Crafting arguments, sharp and keen. Through rhetorics's lens, ideas collide, In the marketplace of thoughts, they reside. Pathos, logos, ehtos entwine, in the dance of life, they intertwine. With eloquence and chart, it captivates, Through eloquence, ideas take flight, Shaping minds, in the realm of light. Leading minds through vast, intellectual states. In the art of rhetoric, stories are untold, and truths unfold. 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 Orioye Samuel...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Against the sea wind IV
Located in Sempach, LU
In this oil painting, I've mingled the strokes of impressionism with realism to capture not just a scene, but an emotion. The sailboat against the tempestuous sea speaks to the coura...
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

I'm stronger than you think and even than I think
Located in Sempach, LU
Participant SOLO EXHIBITION in Thun, Switzerland "Strength, and Vulnerability" December 2022. Please get in touch with us if you have any questions about this artwork. MATERIALS: Th...
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Canvas

Performer Modern Expressionist Painting by Nicola Simbari
Located in Delray Beach, FL
Performer Artist signed lower right, canvas 28"x31"75 Nicola Simbari was born in Italy and grow up in Rome. He studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma, and in the 1940s he beg...
Category

1970s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Oil

Deserving More
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
In "Deserving More," the central figure, a man, sits solemnly on a chair, his gaze piercing through the canvas to meet the audience's eyes. A subtle sadness etches his features, refl...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Fabric, Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

Old Town Streets, Mid Century Modern Chilean Village Figurative Landscape
By Luis Valenzuela
Located in Soquel, CA
Old Town Streets, Mid Century Modern Chilean Village Figurative Landscape Vibrant and expressive mid century modern figural landscape oil painting by Luis Valenzuela (Chilean, 20th Century), 1965. Small silhouetted figures stroll down the colorful yellow and blue city streets of old Santiago, Chile at night. The artist uses loose, painterly brushstrokes and dots the canvas with warm red highlights, giving this piece a sense of exuberance and life. Signed "Luis Valenzuela 1965" lower left. Presented in a carved period giltwood frame. Board size; 20"H x 24"W. Luis Valenzuela was born in Santiago de Chile. He studied his elementary and middle school in Victorino Lastarria (Providencia). At age 17 he started in the oil painting arts, where his innate talent flows. It was perfected in the Palace of Fine Arts (1964, 1965), receiving instruction from teachers Carlos Pedraza, Reinaldo Villaseñor, Matilde...
Category

1960s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Cardboard

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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