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Expressionist 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
Old Gray, Original Painting
Old Gray, Original Painting

Old Gray, Original Painting

By Robert Hofherr

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Artist Robert Hofherr shares that certain structures framed by trees often suggest strong compositional possibilities, as seen in this scene. The style and sett...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Emotional Metamorphosis 11: Lines of Illusion, Original Painting
Emotional Metamorphosis 11: Lines of Illusion, Original Painting

Emotional Metamorphosis 11: Lines of Illusion, Original Painting

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Petal-like shapes, vines, and organic forms overlap in this botanical painting. Created with acrylic paint, spray paint, and markers, the artwork features raise...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Emotional Metamorphosis 7, Original Painting
Emotional Metamorphosis 7, Original Painting

Emotional Metamorphosis 7, Original Painting

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Colorful organic and geometric shapes define this abstract expressionist painting. Paint drips run downward, adding a sense of motion to the scene. The composit...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Emotional Metamorphosis 2, Original Painting
Emotional Metamorphosis 2, Original Painting

Emotional Metamorphosis 2, Original Painting

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
This vibrant medium-sized artwork explores the ever-changing emotional landscape. Its vivid colors and bold strokes suggest a blossoming, floral motif. The piec...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Creation Code: Code 5, Original Painting
Creation Code: Code 5, Original Painting

Creation Code: Code 5, Original Painting

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Expressive splashes and deliberate lines explore the tension between disorder and intention in this abstract expressionist painting. Vibrant colors and dynamic ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Georges Braque (French, 1882-1963) - Nature Morte au Pot
Georges Braque (French, 1882-1963) - Nature Morte au Pot

Georges Braque (French, 1882-1963) - Nature Morte au Pot

By Georges Braque

Located in Dallas, TX

Georges Braque (French, 1882-1963) - Nature Morte au Pot Signed ‘G Braque' (underlined) bottom right Oil on canvas Canvas: 18 x 21.75 in. (45.7 x 55.2cm) Framed: 26 x 30 inches Executed circa 1959 Provenance: Galerie Beyeler, Basel, Switzerland. Galerie de l'Élysée (Alex Maguy...

Category

1950s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Paint

Summer wild herbs on the field
Summer wild herbs on the field

Summer wild herbs on the field

Located in Zofingen, AG

In this oil painting, I've melded expressionism with touches of fine art and impressionism, breathing life into a bucolic symphony of divine wild herbs dancing under a tranquil sky. ...

Category

2010s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Field of wild tulips
Field of wild tulips

Field of wild tulips

Located in Zofingen, AG

As the artist, I poured my passion into this canvas, capturing the vivid dance of colors and light across a wild tulip field. The robust oils carry the vibrancy of nature's palette, ...

Category

2010s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Linen, Oil

Raventos MOULIN ROUGE. PARIS original expressionist acrylic canvas
Raventos MOULIN ROUGE. PARIS original expressionist acrylic canvas

Raventos MOULIN ROUGE. PARIS original expressionist acrylic canvas

By Maria Asuncion Raventos

Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL

"MOULIN ROUGE. PARIS"- original expressionist acrylic canvas painting - 1997 RAVENTÓS Mª Assumpció – (San Sadurní d’Anoia, Barcelona 1930). Raventos trained at the elite Sant Jordi...

Category

Late 20th Century Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Let The Poor Breathe -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Abstraction, Africa
Let The Poor Breathe -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Abstraction, Africa

Let The Poor Breathe -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Abstraction, Africa

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 Ola...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Cinderella

Cinderella

By Jackie Felix

Located in Buffalo, NY

An original oil painting by American female artist Jackie Felix titled Cinderella from the artists Argentina Series.

Category

1980s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Flowers in vase. 1931. Oil on cardboard 45x50 cm
Flowers in vase. 1931. Oil on cardboard 45x50 cm

Flowers in vase. 1931. Oil on cardboard 45x50 cm

Located in Riga, LV

Janis Pupols (1886 – 1956) Graduated Landscape studio of V. Purvitis in Latvia Art academy (1927). He took part in exhibitions since 1925. Artist painted landscapes in different t...

Category

1930s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Cardboard

Winter landscape
Winter landscape

Winter landscape

Located in Riga, LV

Adolfs Melnars (till 1940 – Adolfs Maslovskis) (1908.4.III – 1963.31.X) attended studio of K. Miesnieks (1928), studied in Latvia Art academy (1930 – 39) and graduated studio of G. ...

Category

1960s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Cardboard

"Prowl" Red Abstract Figurative Landscape Signed P. Gonzalez
"Prowl" Red Abstract Figurative Landscape Signed P. Gonzalez

"Prowl" Red Abstract Figurative Landscape Signed P. Gonzalez

Located in Houston, TX

Unique red landscape of a man standing under a tree with black lightening overhead. Done in an expressionist style similar to that of Edvard Munch. Signed, titled, and dated by possi...

Category

1980s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Sharron Evans Gold Leaf Horse Painting, Contemporary Expressionist Art
Sharron Evans Gold Leaf Horse Painting, Contemporary Expressionist Art

Sharron Evans Gold Leaf Horse Painting, Contemporary Expressionist Art

Located in Denver, CO

This mesmerizing contemporary expressionist painting by Utah-based artist Sharron Evans is executed in oil and genuine gold leaf on birch panel and presented in a custom gold leaf fr...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Gold Leaf

Screen Time, Oil Painting
Screen Time, Oil Painting

Screen Time, Oil Painting

By George Peebles

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
The artwork offers a glimpse of a peaceful summer day at the beach. The tranquil sea stretches into the distance, while the sandy, pink shore gradually transi...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Beyond The Pretty Faces 7 -21st Century Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Women

Beyond The Pretty Faces 7 -21st Century Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Women

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 Ola...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Blooming terrace
Blooming terrace

Blooming terrace

Located in Zofingen, AG

In this work, I wanted to capture the essence of serenity and vibrancy coexisting. The delicate dance of light and shadow through the blossoms is a fleeting moment I've brought to st...

Category

2010s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

European Architectural Colonnaded Arcade Watercolor Painting
European Architectural Colonnaded Arcade Watercolor Painting

European Architectural Colonnaded Arcade Watercolor Painting

By Boris Vassiloff

Located in Surfside, FL

Boris Vassiloff, Russian/American (1906 - 2000) Artist Boris Vassiloff was born on March 24, 1906 to Julia Nikolaevna and Boris Ivanovich Vassiloff in Russia. He died peacefully on D...

Category

Mid-20th Century Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Watercolor, Board

Rock-A-Nore beach, Hastings
Rock-A-Nore beach, Hastings

Rock-A-Nore beach, Hastings

Located in Deddington, GB

Rock-A-Nore beach, Hastings by Georgie Dowling [2021] original Oil paint on canvas Image size: H:25 cm x W:35 cm Complete Size of Unframed Work: H:25 cm x W:35 cm x D:2cm Sold Unfra...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Redbird and fireflies, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Redbird and fireflies, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

Redbird and fireflies, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

By Jorge Calero

Located in Yardley, PA

In this acrylic expressionist painting, I infused vibrancy and life through bold colors and dynamic strokes, encapsulating the ephemeral dance of nature's energy. This piece is a cel...

Category

2010s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Blue Testament 3 -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Modern Africa

Blue Testament 3 -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Modern Africa

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 Dan...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

Mujer de Juchitan
Mujer de Juchitan

Mujer de Juchitan

By Raul Anguiano

Located in Long Island City, NY

Artist: Raul Anguiano, Mexican (1915 - 2006) Title Mujer de Juchitan Year: 1974 Medium: Oil on Canvas, signed l.l., signed, dated and titled verso Size: 25.5 x 37.25 in. (64.77 x 94...

Category

1970s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Winter Shadows 31, Eleanor Woolley, Original Night Time Painting, Affordable Art
Winter Shadows 31, Eleanor Woolley, Original Night Time Painting, Affordable Art

Winter Shadows 31, Eleanor Woolley, Original Night Time Painting, Affordable Art

By Eleanor Woolley

Located in Deddington, GB

Winter Shadows 31 [October 2021] original Oil Paint on Canvas Image size: H:15 cm x W:15 cm Complete Size of Unframed Work: H:15 cm x W:15 cm x D:3cm Sold Unframed Please note t...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Blossoming Benevolence, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Blossoming Benevolence, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

Blossoming Benevolence, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

By Amanda Dagg

Located in Yardley, PA

"Blossoming Benevolence" is a captivating 20x20 inch acrylic on canvas painting that exudes warmth and vibrancy. The artwork features a thick, textured surface that adds depth and di...

Category

2010s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Sea, Boats
Sea, Boats

Sea, Boats

Located in Zofingen, AG

In this artwork, I've captured the vibrant dance of light on water, blending impressionist strokes with the emotive dynamism of expressionism. Using oils, I layered colors to evoke t...

Category

2010s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

"Florence in the winter" oil on canvas by Masri
"Florence in the winter" oil on canvas by Masri

"Florence in the winter" oil on canvas by Masri

By Masri Hayssam

Located in Carmel, CA

Masri is a passionate Italian, US-based artist whose work has been exhibited in USA, the UK, Germany, Lebanon, Italy and Norway. His work is varied and known especially in Europe, an...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Snowy roofs. Oil on canvas, 54 x 73, 5 cm
Snowy roofs. Oil on canvas, 54 x 73, 5 cm

Snowy roofs. Oil on canvas, 54 x 73, 5 cm

Located in Riga, LV

Snowy roofs. Oil on canvas, 54x73,5 cm Aleksandr Rodin (1922-2001) Painter Born in a family of farmers. Wife Rasma Lace - art scholar. Studied at the Stalingrad School of Art, Sarat...

Category

1980s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Bright new day, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Bright new day, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

Bright new day, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

Located in Yardley, PA

In this vibrant expression of nature's beauty, I've melded expressionism and impressionism with semi-abstract forms, using acrylics to celebrate life's invigorating essence. My brush...

Category

2010s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Monet's garden, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Monet's garden, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

Monet's garden, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

Located in Yardley, PA

The view is reminiscent of Monet's garden in Giverny in late summer. Perspective leads the viewer into the depths of the landscape where light forms the focal point of the compositio...

Category

2010s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Girl & Plants Enamel Glazed Ceramic Plaque Israeli Artist Awret Naive Folk Art
Girl & Plants Enamel Glazed Ceramic Plaque Israeli Artist Awret Naive Folk Art

Girl & Plants Enamel Glazed Ceramic Plaque Israeli Artist Awret Naive Folk Art

By Irene Awret

Located in Surfside, FL

This is a rare ceramic plaque painted with enamel glaze by famed Israeli German artist Irene Awret (these are generally hand signed Awret Safed on the verso. I just have not opened the frame to check) the actual glazed ceramic is 10.25 X 14.75 inches. It depicts a girl or woman with potted plants, birds, pomegranates and other fruits and flowers in a naif, folk art style. Irène Awret was born to a Jewish family in Berlin called Spicker, the youngest of three children. Her mother died in 1927, when Irène was six years old. In 1937 she was forced to stop high school, due to the Nazi race laws. Because she could not continue her regular studies, her father sent her to study drawing, painting and art restoration with a Jewish painter. Among his students were a large number of German Jews who knew they would have to leave Germany within a short time and would require a profession to enable them to support themselves. When the situation grew worse, following the Kristallnacht (the first major attack on German and Austrian Jews in November 1938), her uncle decided to move to Belgium. In 1939 the situation became even worse - her father was fired from his job and the family were forced to leave their home. As a result, Awret's father tried to send her and her sister to Belgium, with the help of smugglers. The first smuggler proved to be a double agent and they were sent back from Aachen to Berlin. Two weeks later they made a second, successful, attempt to sneak across the border. Awret worked for a Dutch Jewish family as a maid. As she had her room and board there, she was able to save enough money to study art part-time at Brussels' Académie Royal des Beaux-Arts. A few months later Awret's father joined her and her financial situation became easier. She left her job and studied full-time, helping support herself with restoration work when it was available and by painting portraits to order. Later, Awret found a hiding place on a farm in Waterloo with a Jewish family who were connected with the underground. In January 1943 she had to return to Brussels, living with a false identity card which stated she was a married woman with two children. Awret succeeded in renting an attic without informing the police where she was - she told her landlady that she had been forced to flee her husband because he beat her. While there, she supported herself by restoring wooden sculptures. A Jewish informer gave her up to the Gestapo, accompanying the two Gestapo men who arrested her. Awret was able to take a bag containing food and drawing materials. She was detained in the Gestapo cellars in Brussels where she drew. Because there was nothing there to draw, she sketched her own hand (view this work). Awret was interrogated in order to reveal the hiding place of her father who was still in Brussels. The National Socialist regime was determined to persecute him, even though he had fought for Germany in World War I and been permanently disabled. They stepped up their torture and brought Awret before Hartmann, the head of the Gestapo in Brussels. When Hartmann saw her block of drawings, he asked her where she had studied art and halted the interrogation. Awret was placed in a narrow cell and then transferred to Malines camp, which the Belgian's called Mechelen. Malines was a transit camp to Auschwitz, regularly sending 2000 people at a time. Although she arrived just before Transport No. 20, Irène Awret avoided being included. Instead she was put to work in the leather workshop, decorating broaches. While she was there, Hartmann visited the camp and spotted her: "I could have discovered where your father is hiding," he told her. When her artistic talents became known, she was transferred to the Mahlerstube (artist's workshop) where she worked producing graphics for the Germans until the end of the war. When Carol (Karel) Deutsch (whose works are now on view at Yad Vashem) was sent from Mechelen to his death with his wife, he left young Irene his paintbox. Irene also recalls seeing the great painter Felix Nussbaum and his wife being pushed into a boxcar bound for the gas, and tells of the aftermath of the famous 20th Train incident, when a young Jewish doctor armed only with a pistol and helped by two unarmed friends with a lantern ambushed one of Mechelen's Auschwitz-bound trains carrying 1,618 Jews, most of whom had fled Eastern Europe for Belgium. Awret's job enabled her to paint and draw - mainly in pencil, but also in watercolors and oils. In the artists' workshop she met a Jewish refugee from Poland - Azriel Awret - who would later become her husband. Among the other artists in the workshop were Herbert von Ledermann-Vütemberg, a sculptor from an aristocratic family with Jewish roots, Léon Landau, and Smilowitz, who perished in the camps in the East. Irène and Azriel tried to bribe a German officer to prevent Smilowitz's deportation. Not only were they unsuccessful, but they were almost put onto the same train. Jacques Ochs was another artist with whom they became friends in the camp. Ochs, a French-born Protestant who lived in Belgium, was interned as a political prisoner. He remained in Belgium after liberation. After the war the Awrets immigrated to Israel and made their home in Safed. They continued to work, and were instrumental in founding Safed's artists' quarter. The Beit Lohamei Haghetaot (Ghetto Fighters' House Museum) art collection holds works donated by Awret. These date from her time in Malines camp and from her stay in Brussels after the war, when she was in the company of orphans who had hidden while their parents were sent to Auschwitz. Her highly expressive works have made their way to exhibitions at theTel Aviv Museum, the Haifa Museum of Modern Art and the Modern Art Gallery in Washington, D.C., as well as into the private collections of such individuals as Dr. Jonas Salk...

Category

1950s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Enamel

Research & Development Figural 3 & 4

Research & Development Figural 3 & 4

By Bruce Adams

Located in Buffalo, NY

A pair of paintings in one singular frame presentation by American contemporary artist Bruce Adams Art is the R&D for culture. Artists Conduct the R&D for society. In the late tw...

Category

1990s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Canvas

SAKURA - Cherry blossom, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
SAKURA - Cherry blossom, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

SAKURA - Cherry blossom, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

By Hoang Phuong

Located in Yardley, PA

Cherry blossoms are very loved by the Japanese people, so in fact they exist as a symbol and the national flower of Japan. For the Japanese, Sakura zensen symbolizes beauty, fragilit...

Category

2010s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Polzeath
Polzeath

Polzeath

By Rupert Aker

Located in Deddington, GB

Polzeath, evening [2021] original Acrylic on canvas Image size: H:40 cm x W:50 cm Complete Size of Unframed Work: H:40 cm x W:50 cm x D:2cm Frame Size: H:43 cm x W:53 cm x D:3cm Sol...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Expressionist paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Expressionist 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 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, orange, purple, green and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Iryna Kastsova, Maria Asuncion Raventos, Masri Hayssam, and Evelyne Ballestra. 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 paintings, so small editions measuring 1 inches across are also available.