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.
"Lovers Point Afternoon" - Impasto Expressionist Vibrant Seascape Oil Painting
Located in Carmel, CA
Natalia Aandewiel (Ukrainian, born 1996) "Lovers Point Afternoon" 2024 Oil Paint, Canvas, Stretcher Bars The artist signed the back of the painting. ...
Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars
$10,000
"Azure Waltz" - Large Textured Impasto Expressionist Rocky Ocean Seascape
Located in Carmel, CA
Natalia Aandewiel (Ukrainian, born 1996) "Azure Waltz" 2024 Oil Paint, Canvas, Stretcher Bars The artist signed the back of the painting. 'Azure Wal...
Oil, Stretcher Bars, Canvas
"Lil Bit of Shade" (2023) By John McCaw, Expressionist Mixed Media Painting
By John McCaw
Located in Denver, CO
John McCaw's (US based) "Lil Bit of Shade" is a beautiful original expressionist mixed media on canvas painting that depicts an interior with two plants and a chair, with an uneven s...
Mixed Media, Board
"Taking a break" - Horizontal figure painting in black and warm colors.
By Luis Filcer
Located in Miami, FL
"Taking a break" belongs to the series Waiting for God. A unique interpretation of Filcer's series of different religious leaders looking for and waitin...
Masonite, Acrylic
$11,400
Peek a Bunny
By Todd White
Located in Toronto, ON
22" x 22" Framed Original - Oil on Canvas Hand Signed by Todd Whit Todd white captures restaurant, night and Hollywood scenes with contrasting colors serving the viewer’s eyes as t...
Canvas, Oil
Warm Inside - Somber Lakeside Painting
Located in Boston, MA
Warm Inside 30.0 width Acrylic Hand signed by artist Artist's Commentary: "In the middle of the Winter, the snow covering the forest and the ice covering the lake. A blue feeling...
Acrylic
Traditional Jazz, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
I have always been very impressed by jazz music, it makes me feel good. Jazz is a kind of music in which improvisation is typically an important part. In most jazz performances, pl...
Acrylic
Blue and Weathered - German Expressionist Pastel Portrait Painting
By Dina Gardner
Located in Boston, MA
Blue and Weathered 8.0 x 8.0 x 1.0, 3.0 lbs Pastel on wood Hand signed by artist Artist's Commentary: "Although still exploring German Expressionism, this particular piece has a ...
Pastel
Lilly Pond( 55x55cm ), Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
water lily pond Water lily - a colorful and charming flower on the lake. Flowers are the smile of the sun that gives joy. When you think of flowers, in your imagination, as in a ...
Acrylic
Water lily pond, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
water lily pond Water lily - a colorful and charming flower on the lake. Flowers are the smile of the sun that gives joy. When you think of flowers, in your imagination, as in a fu...
Acrylic
Flowers in the morning dew - SOLD, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Flowers in the morning dew The most beautiful flowers are in the early morning. When the dawn just dawned, the petals began to gradually bloom, with the water lily, the lotus in th...
Acrylic
Bright new day still life, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Bright new day I paint the flowers that are plugged in my house, which makes me feel pure and gentle every day when I wake up. A great feeling! spring yellow flowers s...
Acrylic
bright new day, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
bright new day I paint the flowers that are plugged in my house, which makes me feel pure and gentle every day when I wake up. A great feeling! :: Painting :: Expressionism :: This ...
Acrylic
Bright new day still life, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
bright new day I paint the flowers that are plugged in my house, which makes me feel pure and gentle every day when I wake up. A great feeling! :: Painting :: Expressionis...
Acrylic
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...
Acrylic
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...
Acrylic
Bright new day, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
rose spring yellow In this vibrant expression of nature's beauty, I've melded expressionism and impressionism with semi-abstract forms, using acrylics to celebrate life's...
Acrylic
Loving Vincent Van Gogh, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
In crafting this vibrant tapestry of color, I tapped into a deep wellspring of emotion, allowing each stroke to be a reflection of life's fervent dance. The lush oil paints sing wi...
Acrylic
Peach blossom, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Spring flower peaceful symbol of innovation Peach blossom is the most beautiful and popular flower in the North of Vietnam, loved by many people and displayed during ...
Acrylic
Loving Vincent Van Gogh, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
In crafting this vibrant tapestry of color, I tapped into a deep wellspring of emotion, allowing each stroke to be a reflection of life's fervent dance. The lush oil paints sing with...
Acrylic
Peach blossom, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Peach blossom Peach blossom is the most beautiful and popular flower in the North of Vietnam, loved by many people and displayed during Tet. Peach tree is considered the quinte...
Acrylic
Peach blossom, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Peach blossom is the most beautiful and popular flower in the North of Vietnam, loved by many people and displayed during Tet. Peach tree is considered the quintessence of the Five ...
Acrylic
Peach blossom, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Peach blossom is the most beautiful and popular flower in the North of Vietnam, loved by many people and displayed during Tet. Peach tree is considered the quintessence of the Fiv...
Acrylic
Peach blossom, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Peach blossom is the most beautiful and popular flower in the North of Vietnam, loved by many people and displayed during Tet. Peach tree is considered the quintessence of the Fiv...
Acrylic
Loving Vincent Van Gogh, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
In crafting this vibrant tapestry of color, I tapped into a deep wellspring of emotion, allowing each stroke to be a reflection of life's fervent dance. The lush oil paints sing with...
Acrylic
SAKURA- cherry blossoms, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
About the Artwork Peach blossom is the most beautiful and popular flower in the North of Vietnam, loved by many people and displayed during Tet. Peach tree is considered the quinte...
Acrylic
Peach blossom diary, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
In this passionate dance of colors and textures, I've captured the fleeting beauty of nature's bloom. Channeling the spirit of expressionism and impressionism, my brush strokes are l...
Acrylic
Haystacks on the riverbank. Cardboard, oil, 50x59.5 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Haystacks on the riverbank. Cardboard, oil, 50x59.5 cm Jurgis Skulme (1928-2015) – painter, art scientist. 1954 – The graduating State Art Academy of Latvia, the monumental departm...
Oil, Cardboard
$7,200Sale Price|20% Off
"Painter's Atelier" - Squared figurative painting in cool colors.
By Luis Filcer
Located in Miami, FL
An artist painting within a painting.
Paper, Acrylic
$3,572Sale Price|20% Off
Potato joint work in Piebalga. 1986, oil on canvas, 48.5x68 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Arijs Skride (1906.24.IX Madonna parish – 1987.22.XI Riga), painter. Arijs Skride was born into a farmer's family. Wife Gundega Vaska – graphic artist. At the age of 15, he passed ...
Canvas, Oil
$3,384Sale Price|20% Off
Home in Vecpiebalga. 1976, oil on canvas, 50x70 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Arijs Skride (1906.24.IX Madonna parish – 1987.22.XI Riga), painter. Arijs Skride was born into a farmer's family. Wife Gundega Vaska – graphic artist. At the age of 15, he passed ...
Canvas, Oil
$1,504Sale Price|20% Off
Autumn. 2011, oil on cardboard, 48x35 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Ludmilla Perec was born in 1959 in Uzbekistan. Graduated from the State University of Latvia with a degree in theoretical astrophysics. She learned the professional drawing in the st...
Oil, Cardboard
$21,545
Newlands Corner- Victor Egorov, Russian, English Countryside, Landscape, Hills
Located in Knowle Lane, Cranleigh
Newlands Corner is an original oil on canvas which captures 'Newlands Corner', a popular beauty spot in the English countryside that commands some of the best views over the Surrey Hills. Russian painter Victor Egorov...
Oil
Young Girl on a Balcony
Located in Sheffield, MA
Kurt Polter German, 1914-1987 Young Girl on a Balcony Oil on Canvas 31 ¼ by 39 ½ in, w/ frame 39 ⅝ by 47 ½ in Signed lower right Kurt Polter was born in 1914 in Kassel, Germany. Hi...
Oil
$13,500
"Landscape with Nude" - Colorful horizontal expressionist landscape with nude.
By E.C. Bell
Located in Miami, FL
Romantic and expressionist nude artwork on canvas.
Canvas, Acrylic
Wandering Soul. Oil on canvas and cardboard, 28 x 18 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Wandering Soul. Oil on canvas and cardboard, 28 x 18 cm Victor Karnauh (1950, Dnepropetrovsk Oblast, Ukrainian SSR – 2012, Dnepropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine) – a painter, a monument de...
Canvas, Oil, Cardboard
$225Sale Price|20% Off
Shepherd. Oil on canvas and cardboard, 24 x 26 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Shepherd. Oil on canvas and cardboard, 24 x 26 cm Victor Karnauh (1950, Dnepropetrovsk Oblast, Ukrainian SSR – 2012, Dnepropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine) – a painter, a monument designer...
Oil, Canvas, Cardboard
$6,400Sale Price|20% Off
"Flatlander"- Horizontal expressionist female nude with landscape in background.
By E.C. Bell
Located in Miami, FL
Romantic and expressionist nude artwork on canvas.
Canvas, Acrylic
$3,120Sale Price|40% Off
"The peasant" - Horizontal painting with figure and landscape.
By Luis Filcer
Located in Miami, FL
This peasant is part of a unique collection requested by a cardboard factory named DRT in Querétaro, México.
Acrylic, Cardboard
$1,400
Wine Over Love
By Todd White
Located in Toronto, ON
18" x 10" Unframed Limited Edition Giclée with Hand Embellishment of 135 Hand Signed by Todd White “An experienced woman’s piece. She’s dealt with life. Handled it just fine. Now de...
Giclée
Corsican Shore
By Emile Marie Beaume
Located in Sheffield, MA
Émile Marie Beaume French, 1888-1967 Corsican Shore Oil on Canvas 18 ⅛ by 21 ⅝ in, w/ frame 25 ½ by 29 ¼ in Signed lower right French painter, lithographer, engraver and fresco art...
Oil
$1,504Sale Price|20% Off
Birth of the Lamb. Cardboard, oil, 65x60 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Birth of the Lamb. Cardboard, oil, 65x60 cm Aleksandr Rodin (1922-2001) Painter Born in a family of farmers. Wife Rasma Lace - art scholar. Studied at the Stalingrad School of Art, ...
Oil, Cardboard
I never promised Anything, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
A colorful, minimalist flower painting in an expressionist style. The actual painting is a bit lighter in the original than in the photographs you see here. The sides are unpai...
Acrylic
$30,000
Nude with Fruit Basket, Oil Painting by A. Raymond Katz c1949
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Alexander Raymond Katz, Hungarian / American (1895 - 1974) Title: Nude with Fruit Basket Year: circa 1949 Medium: Oil on Canvas Size: 48 x 33 in. (121.92 x 83.82 cm)
Oil
$4,582
A monkey in green Julien Wolf Contemporary art painting expressionnist animal
By Julien Wolf
Located in Paris, FR
OIl paint on canvas Hand-signed on the back by the artist “At first glance, we are invited to a colorful carnival. Everything is movement here! As if Julien Wolf had tried to captur...
Canvas, Oil
Redemption run
Located in Torino, IT
The stylistic and conceptual choices of Giacomo Modolo's research place the discourse on Form at the forefront, particularly through the depiction of felines, the undisputed protagon...
Oil
$1,598Sale Price|20% Off
Flowers. Canvas, cardboard, oil, 69x50 cm
Located in Riga, LV
Flowers. Canvas, cardboard, oil, 69x50 cm Aleksandr Rodin (1922-2001) Painter Born in a family of farmers. Wife Rasma Lace - art scholar. Studied at the Stalingrad School of Art, Sa...
Oil, Cardboard, Canvas
"Bridge of Jianchuan" - Dark Expressive Textured Landscape - Black and Gray
By Duan Zhaonan
Located in Carmel, CA
Duan Zhaonan (Chinese, born 1955) "Bridge of Jianchuan" 2015 Oil paint on canvas, stretcher bars The artist signed the back of the painting. This piece by Duan transports us to a tr...
Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars
$6,400Sale Price|20% Off
"Christmas Morning" - Vertical expressionist female semi-nude in pale colors.
By E.C. Bell
Located in Miami, FL
Romantic and expressionist nude artwork on canvas.
Canvas, Acrylic
ZINNIAS, IN GREEN GLASS JAR, 10.3.16
Located in New York, NY
Colored Pencil on Museum Board Signed and Dated; Impressed with artist's stamp lower right Archivally framed with black float mount and bleached maple surround.
Board, Color Pencil
LITTLE WHITE CHRYSANTHEMUMS, IN GLASS JAR, 3.14.17
Located in New York, NY
Colored Pencil on Museum Board Signed and Dated; Impressed with artist's stamp lower right Archivally framed with black float mount and bleached maple surround.
Board, Color Pencil
$2,400
Moody Day at Mohansic Lake, Signed Original Contemporary Landscape Painting
Located in Boston, MA
Moody Day at Mohansic Lake, Signed Original Contemporary Landscape Painting 24" x 36" x 1.25" (HxWxD), Oil on Canvas Hand-signed by the artist. This landscape painting of a misty da...
Canvas, Oil
Don't Look Back. figurative oil painting of nude woman contemporary laying down
Located in New York, NY
This expressionist abstract figurative oil painting is a self portrait of the artist, painted from a photo of herself. . combining thick, abstract strokes of color, the bedding and t...
Oil
Apricity
Located in Deddington, GB
Apricity [2022] original Oil on Canvas Image size: H:76 cm x W:122 cm Complete Size of Unframed Work: H:76 cm x W:122 cm x D:3.5cm Sold Unframed Please note that insitu images are p...
Canvas, Oil
$8,050Sale Price|30% Off
EVENING MOOD
Located in Aventura, FL
Original oil on canvas painting. Hand signed on front; signed and titled on verso by the artist. Canvas is stretched. Artwork is in excellent condition. Stretched. Certificate of au...
Canvas, Oil
The Play We Met
Located in Torino, IT
Jiri Hauschka (1965, Czech Republic) lives and works in Prague. Jiri Hauschka, born in Sumperk, Czechia in 1965, is an acclaimed painter whose work balances abstraction and magic r...
Acrylic
Hidden Play
Located in Torino, IT
Jiri Hauschka (1965, Czech Republic) lives and works in Prague. Jiri Hauschka, born in Sumperk, Czechia in 1965, is an acclaimed painter whose work balances abstraction and magic r...
Acrylic
Dance beetwen the balls, 2025, 80x60 cm, acrylic on canvas copy
Located in Torino, IT
Jiri Hauschka (1965, Czech Republic) lives and works in Prague. Jiri Hauschka, born in Sumperk, Czechia in 1965, is an acclaimed painter whose work balances abstraction and magic r...
Acrylic
To build a house
Located in Torino, IT
Work published in catalog. Jiri Hauschka (1965, Czech Republic) lives and works in Prague. Jiri Hauschka, born in Sumperk, Czechia in 1965, is an acclaimed painter whose work balanc...
Acrylic
Thank you for your love
Located in Torino, IT
The work is published in the artist's catalog. Jiri Hauschka (1965, Czech Republic) lives and works in Prague. Jiri Hauschka, born in Sumperk, Czechia in 1965, is an acclaimed paint...
Acrylic