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
Fisherman
Located in Austin, TX
By Pep Suari
39" x 39" Acrylic on Canvas
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Acrylic
$5,800
French Contemporary Art by Sandra Detourbet - Promise Indécise
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink on canvas & handmade paper
Sandra Detourbet is a French artist born in 1967 who works & lives in Ivry-sur-Seine, near Paris. She is graduated in 1997 from ENSAD in Paris, Art-Sp...
Category
2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Handmade Paper, Ink
La Veille
Located in Atlanta, GA
Born in 1951, François Legrand was introduced to painting as a teenager by Philippe Lejeune in Etampes.
In 1973, he moved to Loiret. From 1974 to 197...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
$49,920
Soirée Littéraire
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
Untitled, Boy Eating Watermelon
Located in Miami, FL
The work looks much better in person with snappy bright colors that form a complex abstract composition of interconnected shapes.
Hand-signed by artist, sticker label, The Work is Signed lower left - Provenance: Forum Gallery, New York - Label on verso
Swann Gallery...
Category
1960s Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Italian Tuscany Figurative Expressionism Male Nude ink on paper 20st
Located in Florence, IT
The painting is signed and dated: L. NOCENTINI 91.
The style of Ladislao Nocentini can be defined as a sort of Figurative Expressionism: his i...
Category
Early 2000s Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Paper, Ink
La Chemin de la Croix
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
Oil
Le Temps Pas
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
Oil
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
Contemporary Textured Figurative Painting - Water Series No.5
Located in Beijing, CN
textured Figurative painting- Water Series No.5 by He Wenjue
Dimension : 30 x 20cm
Material :oil on canvas
Date: 2009
About Water Series
He Wenjue grew...
Category
Early 2000s Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Le Tombeau de Cyrus, 2018
Located in Atlanta, GA
Born August 4, 1945 in Chambéry.
Apprenticeship in 1984 at the Etampes school founded and run by the painter Philipe Lejeune.
-Price "Finez Planard" awarded by the Taylor Foundation...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Samedi Soir Chez Chloé
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
Contemporary Textured Figurative Painting - Water Series No.3
Located in Beijing, CN
textured Figurative painting- Water Series No.3 by He Wenjue
Dimension : 30 x 20cm
Material :oil on canvas
Date: 2009
About Water Series
He Wenjue grew...
Category
Early 2000s Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Contemporary Textured Figurative Painting - Water Series No.4
Located in Beijing, CN
textured Figurative painting- Water Series No.4 by He Wenjue
Dimension : 30 x 20cm
Material :oil on canvas
Date: 2009
About Water Series
He Wenjue grew...
Category
Early 2000s Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Match point - Julien Wolf, 21st Century, Contemporary figurative painting
By Julien Wolf
Located in Paris, FR
Oil on canvas
Signed
Unique work
Category
2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Two Yellow Parakeets and the Surviving Plant" Oil Painting by Pat Berger
Located in Pasadena, CA
Something is mesmerizing about the paintings of Pat Berger - a captivating force that immediately draws us in. Her work is characterized by a unique composi...
Category
1950s Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Sunflowers
Located in Miami, FL
Her work with signs, symbols and esoteric spirituality reflects her passion for the ancient past and represents a symbolic return to the ground from which we emerged. Her work create...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Contemporary Textured Figurative Painting - Water Series No.2
Located in Beijing, CN
textured Figurative painting- Water Series No.2 by He Wenjue
Dimension : 30 x 20cm
Material :oil on canvas
Date: 2009
About Water Series
He Wenjue grew up in Hunan province, China, where the tributaries of the Xiangjiang River surround almost every town. Water nurtures life, and life creates prosperity and hope. In the late 1990s, He Wenjue began to paint inspired by the theme of water, initially prompted by its natural beauty and liquidity.
Unlike David Hockney’s renowned pool portrait series, He Wenjue’s paintings display endless expanse of water. Although the surface of water reflects the intense blue colour of the sky, it does not conceal the energy of the water flow: the combination of blue and black makes the water surface look like a strong magnetic black hole. This image generates in the viewers a feeling of anxiety and concern for the swimmers.
Even though the combative swimmers, depicted by He Wenjue with reference to Lucian Freud’s expressive style, are carried away by the waves and look pale and weak, however, their naked bodies, still illuminated by an obsidian light, rise and fall between the waves.
For He Wenjue, water is a symbol of any kind of living space: the dynamism of the water surface and the unstable nature of the water represent the instability of society in a universal sense, while the swimmers who strive forward represent the individuals who face many difficulties when they are looking for their own place and making every effort to pursue freedom.
About the artist:
He Wenjue was born in 1970 in Hunan Province, China. He received his MA in painting from Jilin Academy of Fine Arts. Member of Chinese Art Association, Member of Chinese Painting Association.The vice-President of Hunan Oil-Painting Association. Research Fellow of Beijing Academy of China Xieyi Oil Painting.He is currently the vice president of Hunan Oil Painting Society, a member of China Artists Association and a member of Chinese Oil Painting Society.
His works have been displayed on exhibitions at“Scenery in Map”ShangHai Solo Exhibition、Solo Exhibition, Frank Schlag Gallery, Essen, Germany、Sense of the Sparkle: He Wenjue Singapore Solo Exhibition, Singapore、Water: Senses of Sparkle, Tang Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand、The 9th & The 10th National Annual Fine Arts Exhibition、The first Chinese Freehand Brushwork Oil Painting、4th Jakarta Contemporary Ceramics Biennale, 6th BICMA ,、Painting the Present, Certosa di San Giacomo, Via Certosa 1 - Capri, Capri, Italy、The 2nd Chinese Oil Painting Biennale, The National Art Museum of China、The Xinjiang International Art Biennial 2014、Ethics as the DNA Art: The 9th Florence Biennale、SEA OF PEACE: Japan-Korea Contemporary Art Exhibition, Incheon Art Platform, Incheon, Korea、Faces and Figures, Germany、East side, Michael Schultz Gallery, Berlin, Germany、Vanhaerents Museum Collection, Brussel Belgium、China...
Category
Early 2000s Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Textured Figurative Painting - Water Series No.1
Located in Beijing, CN
textured Figurative painting- Water Series No.1 by He Wenjue
Dimension : 30 x 20cm
Material :oil on canvas
Date: 2009
About Water Series
He Wenjue grew...
Category
Early 2000s Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Convoitise
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
Tea at Chateau de Madrid - Modernist Figurative Oil by Anne Estelle Rice
Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Signed and titled oil on panel figures in landscape by American painter Anne Estelle Rice. This beautiful and colourful piece depicts groups of elegantly dressed people enjoying tea ...
Category
1910s Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Picador
By Jean Jansem
Located in New York, NY
During the artists carrier he only painted 2 Picador's of this size for the exhibition at Galerie Maurice Garnier, in Paris France, who was his dealer at the time. Shortly after the ...
Category
1970s Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Price Upon Request
"Cloud" Figurative Nude Oil Painting 47" x 24" inch by Sergey Dolmatov
Located in Culver City, CA
"Cloud" Figurative Nude Oil Painting 47" x 24" inch by Sergey Dolmatov
Year: 2010
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Altai. Belukha Mountain" Oil Painting 24" x 16" inch by Sergey Dolmatov
Located in Culver City, CA
"Altai. Belukha Mountain" Oil Painting 24" x 16" inch by Sergey Dolmatov
Year: 2006
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"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
Canvas, Oil
"Aquarius" Oil Painting 31.5" x 51" inch by Sergey Dolmatov
Located in Culver City, CA
"Aquarius" Oil Painting 31.5" x 51" inch by Sergey Dolmatov
Year: 2014
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Night. Silence." Oil Painting 39" x 29" inch by Sergey Dolmatov
Located in Culver City, CA
"Night. Silence." Oil Painting 39" x 29" inch by Sergey Dolmatov
Year: 2010
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Disappearing" Oil Painting 27.5" x 39" inch by Sergey Dolmatov
Located in Culver City, CA
"Disappearing" Oil Painting 27.5" x 39" inch by Sergey Dolmatov
Year: 2010
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"The Keeper" Oil Painting 24" x 35" inch by Sergey Dolmatov
Located in Culver City, CA
"The Keeper" Oil Painting 24" x 35" inch by Sergey Dolmatov
Year: 2010
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Botanica" Oil Painting 20" x 14" inch by Andrey Remnev
Located in Culver City, CA
"Botanica" Oil Painting 20" x 14" 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
Canvas, Oil
"The Kunafeh Merchant" Oil Painting 27" x 31" inch (1960) by Youssef Sida
By Youssef Sida
Located in Culver City, CA
"The Kunafeh Merchant" Oil Painting 27" x 31" inch (1960) by Youssef Sida
Signed and dated
1960
Youssef Sida
1922-1994
Born in 1922 in Damietta, and in ...
Category
20th Century Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Wood
Seated Nude
By George Grosz
Located in New York, NY
Seated Nude by George Grosz (1893-1959)
Oil on canvas
9 ½ x 5 ½ inches unframed (24.13 x 13.97 cm)
15 x 12 inches framed (38.1 x 30.48 cm)
Signed on bottom...
Category
20th Century Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Price Upon Request
Du Fond de Ce Voyage ou Les Pierres Me Parlent
Located in Long Island City, NY
Theo Tobiasse's Expressionist painting of several Jewish men in traditional clothing features the artist's signature use of bold colors and emotive forms.
Artist: Theo Tobiasse
Tit...
Category
1980s Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Price Upon Request
The Masquerade by Jean Jansem
By Jean Jansem
Located in La Canada Flintridge, CA
The Masquerade, oil painting signed lower right JANSEM. The painting size is 38"x51" with framed (original frame) size 47"x60". Excellent in condition.
From 1934 – 1936 he attended ...
Category
1970s Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Price Upon Request
Still Life with Chess
Located in Kansas City, MO
Title: Still Life with Chess
Materials : Oil on Canvas
Date : 1960's
Dimensions : 42 1/2 x 31 in.
In the late 1960's, Daniel Brennan had a day job loading boxcars for Railway Express. During nights, he would go to a coffee house (Lawrence Gallery and Coffee House, at 43rd and Main St., KCMO), to sit and draw before heading home to paint. The gallery owners, Anne and Sidney Lawrence...
Category
1960s Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Paint, Oil
Price Upon Request
For the Megaliths to the Megalopolis - Figurative Political Painting
Located in New York, NY
Bernard Aptekar's For the Megaliths to the Megalopolis is a figurative painting measuring 49.5" x 65". Aptekar's paintings are often a political and social commentary of the contradi...
Category
Early 2000s Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
The Speeding City Stretches Into Flesh - Figurative Painting with Pastel Colors
Located in New York, NY
Aptekar's paintings are often a political and social commentary of the contradictions inherent to the human mankind. The surrealistic and expressionistic language used to covey the m...
Category
Early 2000s Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Immaculate Perception" Two Abstract Skulls on a Red Field
By Breyten Breytenbach
Located in Houston, TX
Expressionist painting of two abstract skulls in flowers on a field of red. Framed in a white frame with a white matte. Painting was newly framed.
Dime...
Category
1960s Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Acrylic
Jean Carzou, L'etang, 21.5x26 inches, oil on canvas, 1991
By Jean Carzou
Located in La Canada Flintridge, CA
Jean Carzou, L'etang, 21.5x26 inches, oil on canvas, 1991
LIST OF MUSEUMS WITH WORKS BY JEAN CARZOU
Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris Musée d’Art Moder...
Category
20th Century Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
The Crystal Ball
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Noted German Expressionist artist Fritz Schwaderer(1901-1974), , was classically schooled in fine art in Germany in the early-mid 1920as.
...
Category
1950s Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil
Price Upon Request
Repose #1
Located in West Hollywood, CA
We are proud to premier for the first time in more than twenty years, the paintings of Austrian/American artist Gustav Rehberger (1910–1995).
...
Category
1970s Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Mixed Media
Price Upon Request
Repose #2
Located in West Hollywood, CA
We are proud to premier for the first time in more than twenty years, the paintings of Austrian/American artist Gustav Rehberger (1910–1995).
...
Category
1970s Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Mixed Media
Price Upon Request
Repose #3
Located in West Hollywood, CA
We are proud to premier for the first time in more than twenty years, the paintings of Austrian/American artist Gustav Rehberger (1910–1995).
...
Category
1970s Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Price Upon Request
Devotion and Love
Located in West Hollywood, CA
An original oil on canvas by American artist Darren LeGallo. “Devotion and Love”, was exhibited in our recent premiere solo exhibition of American artist Darren LeGallo, “Darren LeGa...
Category
Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Price Upon Request
Shadows
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Presenting an original mixed media watercolor by Hungarian artist Bela Kadar.
Bela Kadar was a historically important artist, is work was included as part of the degenerate art movement of Nazi Germany. His works appeared illustrated in the famous German arts magazine Der Sturm...
Category
1920s Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Gouache
Price Upon Request
The Accordionist
Located in West Hollywood, CA
An exceptional original watercolor by American artist Byron Randall.
"The Accordionist", is an original watercolor on heavy paper, signed, c.1945, ...
Category
1940s Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Watercolor
Price Upon Request
Margit
By Otto Tetjus Tugel
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Presenting a rare oil on panel by German artist Otto Tugel.
Otto Tugel worked in Germany before settling in New York. This is an early oil on panel, signed in monogram, dated 1925.
Category
1920s Expressionist Figurative Paintings
Materials
Oil, Panel
Price Upon Request
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.