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Expressionist Paintings

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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
Figurative Oil on Canvas Painting Titled " Pasion Tanguera " Hand Signed Dated
Figurative Oil on Canvas Painting Titled " Pasion Tanguera " Hand Signed Dated

Figurative Oil on Canvas Painting Titled " Pasion Tanguera " Hand Signed Dated

Located in Plainview, NY

Pasión Tanguera Oil on Canvas Painting by Ale Riva (Buenos Aires, Argentina - b. Unknown ) This evocative oil on canvas captures the raw intensity and romance of Argentine tango, se...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Happy Seagull, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Happy Seagull, Painting, Oil on Canvas

Happy Seagull, Painting, Oil on Canvas

By Greg Dorosh

Located in Yardley, PA

There are few things more beautiful in life than capturing the moment when a seagull is playing around in the water. :: Painting :: Expressionism :: This piece comes with an of...

Category

2010s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Reminding on flowers, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Reminding on flowers, Painting, Oil on Canvas

Reminding on flowers, Painting, Oil on Canvas

By Eva Hoffmann

Located in Yardley, PA

In this oil painting, expressionism and impressionism merge with symbolic elements. I have passionately applied every brushstroke to depict emotions and memories. The powerful splash...

Category

2010s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Gentle sunset, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Gentle sunset, Painting, Oil on Canvas

Gentle sunset, Painting, Oil on Canvas

By Elena Lukina

Located in Yardley, PA

In creating this piece, I was swept up by the tranquillity of the dusk, endeavoring to encapsulate its serene essence. With each stroke, I intertwined the oil medium with emotive exp...

Category

2010s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Tryon 12, Oil Painting
Tryon 12, Oil Painting

Tryon 12, Oil Painting

By Naoko Tadotsu

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Artist Naoko Tadotsu demonstrates a colorful tree on a sunny summer afternoon. Reflections of bright sunlight from a nearby river pierce through the leaves of the lush foliage. A compelling display of blue and green marks intensifies in the warm background. "The lights and leaves together create an illusion of a large stained glass," says Naoko.


About the Artist
Brilliant prismatic trees radiate in artist Naoko Tadotsu’s expressionist compositions. “I am always in awe of nature, color, and light,” says Naoko. These three facets establish her vibrant works in fluid strokes of vivid hues. Roots of her influence trace back to growing up in Osaka, where these elements were abundant. Naoko migrated to New York where she was immersed and fell in love with the world of art. What was once unexpressed inspiration inevitably translated onto the canvas. Her work often crosses into abstraction, capturing her feelings towards nature and painting...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Oil

“Grizzly Stare II” - Original Figurative Expressionist Painting (2013)
“Grizzly Stare II” - Original Figurative Expressionist Painting (2013)

“Grizzly Stare II” - Original Figurative Expressionist Painting (2013)

Located in Soquel, CA

“Grizzly Stare II” - Original Figurative Expressionist Painting (2013) This striking painting of the Grizzly Bear’s amber brown eye is penetrating, drawing the viewer’s eye to that ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swedish Oil Framed Painting - Portrait in Sepia
Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swedish Oil Framed Painting - Portrait in Sepia

Vintage Mid-Century Modern Swedish Oil Framed Painting - Portrait in Sepia

Located in Bristol, GB

PORTRAIT IN SEPIA Size: 72 x 56 cm (including frame) Oil on Board A large and striking mid century modernist portrait in oil, painted onto board. With a very distinctive dark sepia...

Category

1950s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Tender love, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Tender love, Painting, Oil on Canvas

Tender love, Painting, Oil on Canvas

By Elena Lukina

Located in Yardley, PA

In this oil painting, I poured my soul into capturing the intimate moment between these majestic beings. The language of their gentle nuzzle transcends words, speaking to the univers...

Category

2010s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Red Portrait, Painting, Acrylic on Paper

Red Portrait, Painting, Acrylic on Paper

By Barbara Kroll

Located in Yardley, PA

My work is about dealing with the real world and above all using the images that surround us in everyday life. I often search for the unexpected. An ironic turn to images or things y...

Category

2010s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Taormina
Taormina

Taormina

By Erich Waske

Located in Wien, 9

Deling with the work of Erich Waske today, one encounters first of all a number of reasons why this outstanding artist has fallen into such undeserved oblivion. In addition to the de...

Category

20th Century Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Oil, 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

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

Lethbridge Sunset, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Lethbridge Sunset, Painting, Oil on Canvas

Lethbridge Sunset, Painting, Oil on Canvas

By Greg Dorosh

Located in Yardley, PA

I graduated university in Lethbridge Alberta back in 2007. The train bridge itself always mesmerized me while driving by it on a daily basis. At the time, I never imagined that I w...

Category

2010s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Sunflower time, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Sunflower time, Painting, Oil on Canvas

Sunflower time, Painting, Oil on Canvas

By Elena Lukina

Located in Yardley, PA

In this vibrant oil painting, I poured my heart into capturing the fierce beauty of sunflowers standing tall. Each stroke embodies the energy and warmth these flowers exude, blending...

Category

2010s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Oil

The Dynamic Center, colorful, goddess with abstract elements, red, blue, yellow
The Dynamic Center, colorful, goddess with abstract elements, red, blue, yellow

The Dynamic Center, colorful, goddess with abstract elements, red, blue, yellow

By Janet Morgan

Located in Brooklyn, NY

Watercolor, mixed media, using resists. This piece is very much about the energy of the body and breath. We are just rediscovering the power of the breath to increase energy and gen...

Category

2010s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media, Watercolor, Archival Paper

Carl Rabus Brussels Harbor Scene 1937 Expressionist Maritime Painting
Carl Rabus Brussels Harbor Scene 1937 Expressionist Maritime Painting

Carl Rabus Brussels Harbor Scene 1937 Expressionist Maritime Painting

Located in Denver, CO

An atmospheric 1937 harbor scene by German-born modernist Carl Rabus (1898–1983), this striking European maritime painting captures the energy and character of Brussels’ historic wat...

Category

1930s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

UmmHummm, colorful spiritual energetic mystical figure
UmmHummm, colorful spiritual energetic mystical figure

UmmHummm, colorful spiritual energetic mystical figure

By Janet Morgan

Located in Brooklyn, NY

Watercolor, mixed media, using resists. Janet Morgan’s explosive art captures the exuberance and deep wisdom we humans yearn to experience. Her sense of humor and spiritual depth s...

Category

2010s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media, Watercolor, Archival Paper

Pink sunset by the river, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Pink sunset by the river, Painting, Oil on Canvas

Pink sunset by the river, Painting, Oil on Canvas

By Elena Lukina

Located in Yardley, PA

In this oil painting, I've captured a tranquil riverside at dusk, evoking serenity. The brushstrokes blend expressionism with a touch of impressionism, creating a scene that's both v...

Category

2010s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Blooming garden by the pond, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Blooming garden by the pond, Painting, Oil on Canvas

Blooming garden by the pond, Painting, Oil on Canvas

By Elena Lukina

Located in Yardley, PA

In this oil painting, I poured my soul into capturing the enchanting interplay of light and shadows, where blooms dance above tranquil waters. Merging realism with impressionistic to...

Category

2010s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Unfinished Ram
Unfinished Ram

Unfinished Ram

Located in Aramits, Nouvelle-Aquitaine

Robert Kitchen, American (1949 - 2009) Unfinished Ram, 2009 Acrylic on canvas, unframed, signed on back with the estate stamp. Robert Kitchen was born ...

Category

Early 2000s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

"The Saint of the Flaming City, " Oil on Canvas signed by Raymond Breinin
"The Saint of the Flaming City, " Oil on Canvas signed by Raymond Breinin

"The Saint of the Flaming City, " Oil on Canvas signed by Raymond Breinin

By Raymond Breinin

Located in Milwaukee, WI

"The Saint of the Flaming City" is an original oil painting on canvas by Raymond Breinin. It depicts a group of figures looking over an abstracted and green city as the colors of fire rage through the sky. The artist signed and dated the piece in the lower right. This painting was lent by the David Barnett Gallery to the Art Institute of Chicago for their 52nd Annual Exhibition. 30" x 40" art 39 3/4" x 49 3/4" frame Raymond Breinin, Russian/American painter & designer (1910-2000), was born in Vitebsk, Russia, where he commenced his art studies with Uri Pen (who was also the first teacher of Marc Chagall) and later attended the Vitebsk Academy of Art where Malevitch was the director. He came to the United States with his family in 1922. When he came to America he attended classes at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. A painter of murals for the WPA, he was invited to join the Downtown Gallery in New York City, one of the foremost galleries at the time, where he exhibited in one man shows and group shows over a period of 18 years. The winner of numerous major prizes at the Chicago Art Institute and other museums, he also won the $1000 purchase prize at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's "Artists for Victory" exhibition. He designed the sets and costumes for Anthony Tudor's ballet, "Undertow" produced by the American Ballet Theater. He executed commissions for "Life", "Fortune" and "Redbook" magazines, for the Capehart Corporation, Eli Lilly...

Category

1940s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

What Lies Ahead, Painting, Oil on Canvas
What Lies Ahead, Painting, Oil on Canvas

What Lies Ahead, Painting, Oil on Canvas

By Debbie Pacheco

Located in Yardley, PA

Heading into the crowd we see what lies ahead and where the crowd in front of us has been. It's a memory, a blur for them for us there is time to take notice, see things clearly, not...

Category

2010s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Cherry Blossom Season, Still-Life Oil Painting, 2021

Cherry Blossom Season, Still-Life Oil Painting, 2021

By Lynne Friedman

Located in Boston, MA

Artist Commentary: I planted a cherry tree to remind me of the one I had outside my window as a child. It was a Japanese Keanza and very beautiful. About the artist: Lynne's work ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Expressionist Colorful Oil Paint Still-Life: Aves del Paraíso
Expressionist Colorful Oil Paint Still-Life: Aves del Paraíso

Expressionist Colorful Oil Paint Still-Life: Aves del Paraíso

By Chico Montilla

Located in Segovia, ES

Aves del Paraíso, Oil on linen by Chico Montilla. Measurements in centimeters (H) 100 x (W) 81 x (D) 2 cm. / In inches 39.37 x 31.89 x 0.79 " Expressionist interior corner whith fl...

Category

Early 2000s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Linen, Oil

trees landscape, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
trees landscape, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

trees landscape, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

By LE ANH TUAN

Located in Yardley, PA

, old foliage of the trees, on the hillside, brilliant rays of five colors In this piece, I embraced nature's renewal, channeling the vibrant vitality of spring through my bru...

Category

2010s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Trees landscape, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Trees landscape, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

Trees landscape, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

By LE ANH TUAN

Located in Yardley, PA

In this piece, I embraced nature's renewal, channeling the vibrant vitality of spring through my brush. Employing acrylics, I layered hues and textures to convey the blossoming ene...

Category

2010s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

The Coming Storm
The Coming Storm

The Coming Storm

Located in Sheffield, MA

Nicolas Alexandrovitch Tarkhoff Russian, 1871-1930 The Coming Storm Oil on board 12 ¾ by 19 in, w/ frame 19 ¼ by 25 ½ in Signed lower right Was a Russian-born Impressionist. Born in Moscow on January 20, 1871 to a merchant family he studied painting and drawing. Tarkhoff was known as the “Moscow Parisian,” because he spent so much of his life in France -- from 1898 until his death in 1930. A member of the World of Art and the Union of Russian Artists, Tarkhoff began drawing at the age of twenty-four. After an unsuccessful attempt to enroll at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, he studied under Konstantin Korovin. At the age of twenty-eight, Tarkhoff made his first visit to Paris, where he studied drawing and began actively working and exhibiting. He moved there permanently in 1899. In 1906, he held a one-man show at the gallery of Ambroise Vollard, the famous Parisian art dealer who championed all the leading French Impressionists. Sergei Makovsky, Alexander Benois...

Category

Early 20th Century Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Oil

Flower Field, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Flower Field, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

Flower Field, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

By Karin Goeppert

Located in Yardley, PA

Flower Field ist a large acrylic painting in glowing colors. The grey in the paintings really highlights the brillant reds. The work is ready to hang and signed on the front, the ...

Category

2010s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Ellen Hackl Fagan, Primer, 2001, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic Paint, Graphite
Ellen Hackl Fagan, Primer, 2001, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic Paint, Graphite

Ellen Hackl Fagan, Primer, 2001, Cotton Canvas, Acrylic Paint, Graphite

By Ellen Hackl Fagan

Located in Darien, CT

Ellen Hackl Fagan creates works of art focused on building a visual language. Primer is a large acrylic on canvas painting that was painted during the attacks on NYC on 9/11. She used the alphabet as a metaphor, as a way towards communicating anew with one another. The alphabet is a recurring theme in Fagan's work, ranging from interactive, ColorSoundGrammar works to painting, sculpture, lost languages...

Category

Early 2000s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Acrylic, Graphite

Blueprint, Painting, Acrylic on Paper
Blueprint, Painting, Acrylic on Paper

Blueprint, Painting, Acrylic on Paper

By Christel Haag

Located in Yardley, PA

"Blueprint" is an expressive acrylic painting on thick paper. It is a modern abstract painting, the choice of colors reduced to shades of blue, black and white. The work of art is dy...

Category

2010s Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

"..and CAT"
"..and CAT"

"..and CAT"

By Tetiana Tarasenko

Located in Edinburgh, GB

My ginger cat is very jealous, he is jealous of literally everyone and everything!)) But for some reason we love him very much!))

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

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.