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.
Cerne Abbas, Original painting, landscape, contemporary
Located in Deddington, GB
Cerne Abbas is an Original Oil painting by Eleanor Woolley. Focusing in on the Valley of Cerne Abbas, this painting depicts the sloping hills climbing away from the village towards t...
Canvas, Oil
$3,580Sale Price|20% Off
Venice Palace and Gondola Mooring Colorful Impasto Canal View Oil Painting Italy
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Venice Palace and Gondola Mooring, Colorful Impasto Canal View Artist: Ulpiano Carrasco Title: Palacio y embarcadero en Venecia Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 60 × 73 cm / 23.6 ×...
Oil
$2,120
Oil on canvas Expressionist “Cabins of French Brittany”, after Georges Laporte
Located in Valladolid, ES
Exceptional oil on canvas depicting a coastal landscape with small cabins and fishing boats characteristic of French Brittany, signed Ronald, an artist from the second half of the 20...
Canvas
$3,197Sale Price|20% Off
Expressive Castilian Landscape Oil Painting with Olive Trees and Impasto Spain
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Expressive Castilian Landscape Oil Painting with Olive Trees and Impasto Artist: Ulpiano Carrasco Title: Verano en Castillejo Year: 1998 Technique: Oil on canvas Artwork dimensions: 54 × 65 cm / 21.26 × 25.59 in Framed dimensions: 78 × 89 cm / 30.71 × 35.04 in Signature: Signed and dated on the reverse Inscription: Titled “Verano en Castillejo” on the reverse Framing: Framed Condition: Good overall condition, with rich original impasto and visible pictorial texture Description A vibrant expressive landscape by Spanish artist Ulpiano Carrasco, titled Verano en Castillejo and dated 1998 on the reverse. This oil on canvas represents a powerful Castilian landscape, built through dense impasto, energetic brushwork and a luminous palette of greens, yellows, blues, whites and earthy reds. The composition captures an open rural panorama with olive trees, rolling cultivated fields and distant hills, transforming the Spanish countryside into an intense chromatic experience. Carrasco does not approach landscape as simple topography. His painting turns nature into matter, rhythm and emotion. The fields appear almost sculpted with paint, while the olive trees emerge as dark, expressive forms against the vibrating surface of the land. The result is a landscape full of movement, heat and Mediterranean-Castilian atmosphere. The work is especially attractive for collectors of Spanish contemporary landscape painting, expressive impasto painting, Mediterranean landscapes, olive tree paintings...
Oil
$2,463
Shadow marshes. Richard K Blades. Painting of sea at sunset. Turner influence.
Located in Coltishall, GB
A warm sunset over Norfolk's Cromer beach. Between Thoughts is a sublime oil painting that captures the mesmerizing tranquility of a sunset over thw North Sea. The horizon is ablaze...
Oil, Board
$790
Nature-Inspired Painting, Tropical Flora in Brown and Green, Modern Nature Forms
Located in Barcelona, ES
This painting explores an intimate and imaginative relationship with nature, transforming tropical flora into expressive, living forms. Rather than depicting a specific landscape, th...
Paper, Wax Crayon, Acrylic
Between Thoughts. Richard K Blades. Painting of sea at sunset. Turner influence.
Located in Coltishall, GB
A warm sunset over Norfolk's Cromer beach. Between Thoughts is a sublime oil painting that captures the mesmerizing tranquility of a sunset over thw North Sea. The horizon is ablaze...
Oil, Board
$1,580
Poppies and Wildflowers, Figurative Triptych, Large Botanical Landscape on Paper
Located in Barcelona, ES
This original painting by Romina Milano presents a lyrical field of poppies and wildflowers, where gestural brushwork and simplified forms create a vivid, contemporary botanical comp...
Acrylic, Watercolor, Handmade Paper
$895Sale Price|20% Off
Camargue, French Oil Painting on Canvas, Framed, 1960s Landscape
Located in Genève, GE
Modern Mediterranean Figurative Painting – Red Fishing Boat and Female Figure – Textured Oil on Canvas Signed G. Girard This original painting signed G. Girard captures a poetic and ...
Oil
$2,500
“Crossroads, c. 1940” WPA Polish-American Expressionist Modernist Oil Signed
By Sol Wilson
Located in Yardley, PA
“Crossroads, c. 1940” by Sol Wilson (Polish-American, 1896-1974). This expressive painting by Wilson depicts a moody village crossroads rendered with his signature textured brushwor...
Oil, Board
$2,080Sale Price|20% Off
Aurora Over a Northern Lake, Expressionist Oil on Canvas, Framed, 1916
Located in Stockholm, Stockholm
Aurora over a Northern Lake, signed and dated “G Claeson 1916”, oil on canvas. This evocative landscape, executed in an expressionist manner, and on the same time almost modern, cap...
Canvas, Oil
Funfair - 1950's French Expressionist Mid Century Oil on Canvas Painting
By André Beaucé
Located in Sevenoaks, GB
A wonderful 1950's French expressionist oil on canvas depicting figures at a busy funfair, by Parisian artist André Beaucé. Excellent quality work painted with thick impasto brush work. Signed lower centre. Artist: André Beaucé (French, 1911-1974) Title: Funfair Medium: Oil on canvas Size: 25.5 x 21 inches (65 x 54 cm) André Beaucé was a French painter born on May 23, 1911 in Rennes and died on January 2, 1974 in Paris . A pupil of the School of Fine Arts in Rennes, a graduate of the National School of Decorative Arts where he was admitted in 1932, André Beaucé was a pupil in the workshops of André Lhote and Simon, with Yves Brayer . He won the Abd-el-Tif prize in 1946 and was a regular at the Salon d'Automne. After having lived for several years in Algeria, and in particular at Villa Abd El Tif where he was a scholarship holder from 1946 to 1948, André Beaucé returned to France in 1949 and resumed his teaching at the Schools of Paris. His painting is then powerfully expressionist, free from any system. In the 1950s, we notice vigorous, uncompromising, intense portraits, captured in an almost caricatural way. The tones, always very mounted, are opposed with force in a composition cut with vigor. After the dark years of the war, Beaucé’s art reflects a violent vision of a certain reality that is always brutal and yet magnificent. Exhibitions Paris, 1936 to 1945, Salon of the National Society of Fine Arts . Tunis, 1946, Exhibition of French Africa. Algiers, 1947, Abd-el-Tif. Paris, 1948, Letourneur gallery. Paris, from 1950 to 1960, Salon d'Automne and Salon Comparaisons . Paris, 1962, Roy's gallery. Paris, May 1963, Exhibition organized on the occasion of the Estates General on Disarmament , Cercle Volney. First Salon Biarritz - San Sebastian: School of Paris - Painting, sculpture: André Beauce, Georges-André Klein , Adrienne Jouclard , Jean Joyet , Robert Lotiron , Roland Bierge , Andrée Bordeaux-Le Pecq , Henri Hayden , Franck Innocent , Germaine Lacaze...
Canvas, Oil
$3,149
Eventide by Richard K Blades. Oil painting of the sea at sunset after a storm.
Located in Coltishall, GB
Richard K Blades is an expressive landscape painter working in the English Romantic tradition. He follows in a long line of artists such as Turner, Constable, Seago, Daubigney and C...
Oil, Board
$1,763
Elena Lukina, "Spring Pond" Contemporary Impressionist Water Oil Painting, 2023
By Elena Lukina
Located in Zofingen, AG
Original oil painting "Spring Pond" by contemporary artist Elena Lukina, created in 2023 for the "Liquid Reflections: The Floating Garden" series. The vertical composition masterfull...
Canvas, Oil
$5,900
Reverte 15.4.2.Albarracin Acrylic Painting, Expressionist, Framed, 2000s
Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL
ANTONIO REVERTE OLIVA (Monteagua, Murcia, 1943 – Gavà, Barcelona, 2014). A self-taught artist, Antonio Reverte settled in Catalonia in 1961, in the Barcelona town of Viladecans. In ...
Acrylic
$1,309Sale Price|30% Off
Lake view by A. Muller - Oil on canvas 60x73 cm
Located in Geneva, CH
Work on canvas with a frame; total size 80x93 cm
Oil
$4,256Sale Price|50% Off
"Expressionist Oil Painting 'Landscape', Canvas, Belgian, Circa 1928"
Located in London, GB
'Landscape', oil on canvas, by Charles Kvapil (1928). The artist, Kvapil, has scores of tremendous artworks which depict scenes in nature such as this one. Here, a bit of Mediterrane...
Canvas, Oil
View of the Lake, Oil on Cardboard, Landscape Painting, 26x36.5 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Janis Rikmanis (1901.5.IV – 1968.25.III) graduated Figurative painting studio of Latvia Art academy (1931). He took part in exhibitions since 1929. Self-exhibitions were made in Riga...
Oil, Cardboard
Café de la Gare - Mid 20th Century French Expressionist Figurative Oil Painting
Located in Sevenoaks, GB
A superb mid 20th century French expressionist oil on canvas depicting a café de la gare (station café) as inscribed on the reverse. Numerous well dressed figures stand at the café ...
Canvas, Oil
Crepe-Myrtle 2, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
A crepe-myrtle tree blooms with delicate flowers that resemble colorful confetti. Its leaves sway gently in the breeze, glowing softly in the summer sunlight. E...
Oil
$708Sale Price|20% Off
Rouen Street Scene Thickly Painted 20th Century French Signed Oil Painting
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist/ School: French Expressionist School, indistinctly signed Title: Rouen street scene Medium: signed oil painting on canvas, unframed. Siz...
Oil, Canvas
Mid Century Expressionist Landscape, Oil on Canvas. The Countryside
Located in Cotignac, FR
Mid Century oil on canvas landscape painting by Franco Hungarian artist Elemer Vagh Weinmann. The painting is signed bottom right and is presented in a custom gilt frame with a white...
Canvas, Oil
Somerset Lake by Joanna Commings, Original art, landscape art, Impasto art
Located in Deddington, GB
Somerset Lake by Joanna Commings [2021] original and hang signed by the artist Acrylics on canvas Image size: H:50 cm x W:60 cm Complete Size of Unframed Work: H:50 cm x W:60 cm ...
Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
Lily pond
By Elena Lukina
Located in Zofingen, AG
In crafting this tranquil scene, I've poured my soul into the serene play of light and reflections, seeking to capture the pond’s subtle dance of water and lily pads. My use of oils ...
Canvas, Oil
Amroth seascape at night
By Rupert Aker
Located in Deddington, GB
Amroth seascape at night by Rupert Aker [2021] original Oil on board Image size: H:30 cm x W:40 cm Complete Size of Unframed Work: H:40 cm x W:40 cm x D:3cm Frame Size: H:33 cm x W:...
Oil, Board
Promeneur au Pigeonnier, Expressionist Oil on Board Landscape, Signed
By Jean Arène
Located in Cotignac, FR
French landscape, Expressionist oil on board by Jean Arene. The painting is signed bottom left, titled dated and signed to the back and is presented in the original 'Arene' frame sup...
Oil
Mountain Range, Oil Painting on Canvas by Jalal Gharbi
By Jalal Gharbi
Located in Long Island City, NY
A large oil painting of a dramatic Mountain Range by Tunisian-born artist, Jalal Gharbi (1920 - 2005). The painting measures 30 x 40 inches and the frame 37.5 x 47.5 inches.
Canvas, Oil
$872Sale Price|20% Off
20th Century French Expressionist Provencal Landscape Green Hills & Town
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
'Green Hills in Provence' French School, late 20th century oil on thin board, unframed board: 13.5 x 18 inches the painting is in overall very good and sou...
Oil
Benavente Solís Landscape - original expressionist
Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL
Landscape original expressionist painting. frame Work of the Spanish artist BENAVENTE SOLIS. Perfect state . During its first exhibition in Paris, the French press catalogs it lik...
Wood, Oil
Spring – Impressionist Abstract Flower Tree Oil Painting Wall Art Canvas
By Elena Lukina
Located in Zofingen, AG
This original oil painting is an atmospheric landscape artwork titled Spring, created by the registered artist Elena Lukina in 2022.Designed with an innate sense of balance, this pai...
Canvas, Oil
Fantasy with Flowers 25
Located in Zofingen, AG
"Fantasy with Flowers" (series of 200+ pictures) paper 59x42cm On the paper acrylic, oil pastel, felt-tip pen, ink, gold leaf, pencils, silver,mixed media. Flowers are a smile of ...
Oil Pastel, Acrylic, Archival Paper
"Sarabono" (2009) by Jann T. Bass, Original Oil Painting of Landscape
Located in Denver, CO
"Sarabono" (2009) by Jann T. Bass is an original handmade oil painting that depicts a colorful flowery landscape. This painting measures 12 x 14 inches and is ready to hang.
Oil, Board
"Valley View" (2009) by Jann T. Bass, Original Oil Painting of Landscape
Located in Denver, CO
"Valley View" (2009) by Jann T. Bass is an original handmade oil painting that depicts a lush green valley with a small lake in the middle. This painting measures 9 x 12 inches and i...
Oil, Board
"Mexican Landscape Water Scene with Figures and Boat" Expressionistic Style
Located in New York, NY
A strong modernist oil painting depicted in the Mid Century by Russian painter Michael Baxte. Mostly known for his abstracted figures on canvas or street scenes, this piece is a wond...
Oil, Masonite
Afternoon Colors, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
A path leads to Mt. Diablo in this Fauvist landscape. Artist James Hartman used thick layers of oil paint to create an expressive and textured outdoor scene. In...
Oil
$5,547Sale Price|45% Off
¨Topiaria¨. Expressionist colorful garden. Big format Oil on canvas
Located in Segovia, ES
Topiaria. Big format Oil on canvas Beautiful garden by Chico Montilla. Measurements: (H) 130 x (W) 195 x 3 cm. Framed 142 x 207 x 5 cm. Colorful expressionist view of a garden with plants that have been given artistic form through the topiary art...
Canvas, Oil
$1,811Sale Price|40% Off
The Park, Expressionist Oil on Canvas, Framed, Circa 1920s, 66 cm
Located in London, GB
'The Park', oil on canvas, by M. Phidias (circa 1920s). Painted using this artist's trademark impasto, the effect is to add depth and texture to the exuberant display of hues and ref...
Canvas, Oil
Expressionist Colorful Landscape Oil Paint : 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...
Canvas, Oil
$1,800
"Love Poem" (2024) by Leigh Ann Van Fossan, Original Acrylic Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Leigh Ann Van Fossan's "Love Poem" is an original acrylic depicting an impressionistic aspen landscape in soft pastel colors. Van Fossan was born in Vail, Colorado, and began oil p...
Canvas, Acrylic
$1,884Sale Price|20% Off
19th Century Expressionist Lake and Mountain Landscape Oil Painting
Located in Genève, GE
Work on canvas
Oil
$1,996Sale Price|20% Off
Large Vintage Expressionist Landscape Original Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
A gorgeous bright green expressionist landscape by Carl Ashby. From the collection of renowned painter Steve Wheeler. Nicely framed in a gold and black wooden floater frame. Measurin...
Oil, Canvas
$1,800
"Mexican Outdoor Scene with Figures" Expressionistic Style Oil Painting on Board
Located in New York, NY
A strong modernist oil painting depicted in the Mid Century by Russian painter Michael Baxte. Mostly known for his abstracted figures on canvas or street scenes, this piece is a wond...
Oil, Masonite
St Tropez on the French Riviera, Oil on Board Painting by Ramon Dilley
Located in Atlanta, GA
Ramon Dilley — Coastal View of Saint‑Tropez, Oil on Board Painting, 1985 A vibrant and atmospheric oil on board painting by Ramon Dilley (French, 1932–2020), capturing the luminous charm of Saint‑Tropez with the artist's signature blend of color, rhythm, and Mediterranean warmth. The composition unfolds across a hillside of red‑roofed houses descending toward the harbor, where sailboats rest against a backdrop of rolling hills and expressive skies. Dilley's confident brushwork and saturated palette infuse the scene with movement and sunlit vitality. The painting is presented in its original Montparnasse‑style gilded wood frame, richly carved and perfectly suited to the work's spirited Provençal character. The reverse bears the handwritten inscription "St‑Tropez, rue de la Citadelle, 6/1/85", anchoring the piece to a precise moment and place in the artist's career. A compelling addition for collectors of French modern painting and Mediterranean landscapes, this piece offers both decorative appeal and strong provenance. A highly decorative and collectible artwork for interiors seeking French Riviera charm, vintage coastal art...
Board, Oil
"Dawn" (2023) By Lorenzo Chavez, Original Oil Painting of Landscape
Located in Denver, CO
"Dawn" (2023) by Lorenzo Chavez is an original, handmade oil painting on panel that depicts an expressionist landscape with a colorful cloudy sunset covering the sky. About the art...
Oil, Panel
3 Whisper of the Adriatic Venice Biennale 2026 Project
By Elena Lukina
Located in Zofingen, AG
THE PROJECT: INDEPENDENT PAVILION VENICE 2026 This work is a cornerstone of the "In Minor Keys: The Turquoise Silence" series — a large-scale artistic manifesto created specifically ...
Canvas, Linen, Oil
Oil painting on board "Rough sea with steamer on the horizon" by S.A.Vinogradoff
Located in Gavere, BE
Sergey VINOGRADOV ( 1869 - 1938 ) Rough sea with steamer on the horizon Sergei Arsenievich Vinogradov ( Russian: 1869–1938 ) was a Russian-Soviet Impressionist painter; known for l...
Gold Leaf
Haystacks in Nordmany
Located in New York, NY
This is a period when the artist saw the light differently and the journey all started in 1971. Bernard Buffet, the artist, was searching for subjects, looking to paint what he saw j...
Oil
North West. Richard K Blades. Oil painting of the sea and sky Turner influence.
Located in Coltishall, GB
North West - a tumultuous seascape beneath a dramatic sky. Blades' textured brushstrokes that merge shades of deep indigo and soft pink, suggest an impending storm. The transition fr...
Oil, Board
Sakura in the city park – Impressionist Landscape Oil Painting Wall Art
By Elena Lukina
Located in Zofingen, AG
This vibrant oil painting is an evocative landscape painting titled Sakura in the city park created by the internationally registered artist Elena Lukina in 2022.As a comforting land...
Canvas, Oil
$1,977Sale Price|20% Off
The Port of Honfleur, Oil on Canvas, Expressionist, Framed, 1958
Located in London, GB
'The Port of Honfleur, France', oil on canvas, by Julien Varlet (1958). A vibrant and evocative harbour scene from the historic port city of Honfleur in Normandy, France. Colourful, ...
Canvas, Oil
Blooming balcony – Impressionist Landscape Garden Oil Painting Wall Art
By Elena Lukina
Located in Zofingen, AG
This vibrant oil painting is an evocative landscape painting titled Blooming balcony created by the internationally registered artist Elena Lukina in 2020.As a comforting landscape p...
Canvas, Oil
$1,686Sale Price|20% Off
Oil on canvas French Expressionist Alsatian Village by E. Ritter France
Located in Valladolid, ES
Amazing and extraordinary oil on canvas painting is signed by Etienne Ritter in the lower right corner. It depicts a European village from the French region of Alsace, following the...
Canvas
1 Depth in Minor Painting, Turquoise Palette, Venice Biennale 2026
By Elena Lukina
Located in Zofingen, AG
"Depth in Minor" is the fundamental work that opens the entire Venetian cycle. It captures the incredible, translucent emerald light within a cresting wave — a symbol of inner streng...
Canvas, Linen, Oil
"Song of Gold" (2024) by Leigh Ann Van Fossan, Original Oil Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Leigh Ann Van Fossan's "Song of Gold" (2024) is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a large field with a cloudy sky during golden hour. Van Fossan was born in Vail, Colo...
Oil, Board
$1,292Sale Price|26% Off
Mediterranean Village of Mallorca oil on canvas painting
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Artist: Bernat Sanjuan i Tarré (Barcelona, 1915 – Deià, Mallorca, 1979) Title: Mediterranean Village of Mallorca Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 65 × 92 cm (25.6 × 36.2 in) Framed:...
Canvas, Oil
Kinetic Motion: 18x24cm Impasto Oil on Canvas Panel (2024)
By Elena Lukina
Located in Zofingen, AG
"Kinetic Motion" is a vibrant 2024 original oil study from the prestigious series Gravity of Light: Marine Chronicles. Created as an intimate 18x24 cm work on professional canvas pan...
Canvas, Oil, Cardboard
Marsh Near the South River, Original Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA
Artist Comments
This simple study of a southern Massachusetts marsh transforms the landscape through bold color and the removal of unnecessary detail. Expressive brushwork give...
Acrylic
Lady with a Parasol at the Beach, Mid-20th Century Oil on Canvas
Located in St. Albans, GB
Hubert Glansdorff Belgian 1877 – 1963 Signed bottom right Picture Size: 19 x 28" (47 x 70cm) Outside Frame Size: 27 x 36" (67 x 90cm) A rare chance ...
Oil
$10,500Sale Price|30% Off
'Riflessi A Tiburon', by Marco Sassone, Oil on Linen, Waterfront Landscape, 1983
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
This framed oil on linen painting, 'Riflessi A Tiburon,' by Marco Sassone, an American-Italian painter, is measured at 30 x 24 inches in a horizontal format. Sassone paints an Expres...
Linen, Oil
$1,800
"Yearning" (2024) by Leigh Ann Van Fossan, Original Acrylic Painting
Located in Denver, CO
Leigh Ann Van Fossan's "Yearning" is an original acrylic depicting an impressionistic landscape with a stormy blue sky. Van Fossan was born in Vail, Colorado, and began oil paintin...
Canvas, Acrylic