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.
$975
Point Sur Light House, Big Sur, California - Cyanotype / Watercolor Landscape
Located in Soquel, CA
Soft watercolor accents add to the beauty of this unique cyanotype and watercolor landscape of the Point Sur Lighthouse in Big Sur, California by Cheryl Trotter (American, 20th centu...
Photographic Film, Watercolor
"Model in black & white" Photography on canvas
Located in Carmel, CA
Malissa - "Model in black & white" Photography on canvas The photograph comes with a certificate of authenticity and a letter of appraisal.
Canvas, Photographic Film, Black and White
L’étoile, from the series Fantômes
By Diana Markosian
Located in Los Angeles, CA
L’étoile, from the series Fantômes, 2025. © Diana Markosian / Aperture Framed and Signed Magnum/Aperture square print sale Diana Markosian takes an intimate approach to her photogr...
Archival Pigment
Peacock displaying in Magenta and Yellow Birds
By Robert Funk
Located in Miami, FL
The reality is that this is an eye-witness account of a male peacock displaying for the attention of a female peahen. It turns out that humans are equally...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
$5,000
Skid Row Bowery Street Portrait - The Streets of New York - Photojournalism
Located in Miami, FL
Street Photographer Mitchell Funk breaks with tradition and shoots street photography in color. Today in 2022, this does not seem like a big deal. But 52 years ago, in 1970, it was q...
Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
$2,993
H 21.26 in W 13.78 in D 0.08 in
Audrey- Signed limited edition fine art print, Sensual, Contemporary
Located in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona
Audrey - Signed limited edition archival pigment print , Edition of 5 This is an Archival Pigment print on fiber based paper ( Hahnemühle Photo Rag® Baryta 315 gsm , Acid-free and...
Archival Paper, Black and White, Giclée, Archival Pigment, Pigment, Phot...
$1,819Sale Price|20% Off
H 47.25 in W 47.25 in D 1.19 in
Togetherness - Large Scale Cyanotype Style Film Photographic Print Framed
By Pia Clodi
Located in Zürich, CH
Not one to shy away from human representation, Pia Clodi’s more portraiture-like works continually offer the sitter an air of anonymity, and as such the viewer has the opportunity to...
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Carbon Pigment, Polaroid
$275
H 10 in W 13 in
Young Lad ( haunting portrait of young boy on a crowded London street)
By Richard Sadler
Located in New Orleans, LA
Richard Sadler's "Young Boy" is a haunting portrait of a very serious young British lad amidst a crowd of other people. He is dressed very formally in hat, coat and tie. He clutche...
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper
$915
H 19.69 in W 19.69 in D 0.04 in
Abstract Dancers, White 1, 2019 - Royal Ballet London Opera Jewels Ballet Print
By Giles Revell
Located in Brighton, GB
Abstract Dancers, White 1 is a stunning and dynamic Archival Pigment Print by contemporary British photographer Giles Revell. Giles Revell creates image...
Photographic Paper, Color, Archival Pigment, Pigment
$2,400
H 13 in W 19 in
Office Party, New York, Photograph Edition, Black and White, 1966, Signed
Located in New york, NY
Office Party by Leonard Freed is a 13" x 19" limited-edition photograph. The print Ed. 4/5 is signed verso (back of photo) by Brigitte Freed (wife of the ...
Photographic Film, Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Digital, Archival Pigme...
$3,591
H 21.46 in W 29.53 in D 0.08 in
Franci and Rachael -Figurative sensual photo, Fine art nude print, Contemporary
Located in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona
An original signed archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag® Baryta 315 gsm paper by Scottish artist Ian Sanderson (1951- 2020) titled ‘ Franci and Rachael ‘ who was capture...
Photographic Film, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Black and White, ...
$2,753
H 25.01 in W 16.67 in D 0.08 in
Beneath the Setting Sun - Color gold photo, Limited edition print, Sunset Shower
Located in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona
Beneath the Setting Sun - Limited edition pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag® Baryta 315 gsm, 2008 - Limited Editions of 15 Shower after a swim in the ocean, in the light of th...
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Color, Pigment, Archival Pigment, Di...
$2,993
H 22.05 in W 13.78 in D 0.08 in
Figurative photo, Signed limited edition contemporary print, Black white-Raquel
Located in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona
An original signed archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag® Baryta 315 gsm paper by Scottish artist Ian Sanderson (1951- 2020) titled ‘ Raquel ‘. This photograph is minimali...
Photographic Film, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Black and White, ...
$2,250
H 24 in W 24 in D 0.1 in
“Inner Space” Portrait Photography 24" x 24" inch Edition of 24 by Brian Ziff
By Brian Ziff
Located in Culver City, CA
“Inner Space” Portrait Photography 24" x 24" inch Edition of 24 by Brian Ziff Giclee (Archival Ink) Print on Canson Platine Fibre Rag Signed and numbered by the artist Comes with COA signed by the artist Not framed. Ships in tube. From "Unbearable Lightness...
Archival Ink, Rag Paper, Giclée
$3,500
H 14 in W 11 in
Kate Standing, Signed Vintage Gelatin Silver Print, 14x11, 2002, Female Nude
Located in New york, NY
Leonard Freed's stamped vintage (verso), 14" x 11," gelatin silver signed and hand-printed by Freed, Kate Standing, is from the Kate series, 2002. A photographer herself, model Kat...
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
$1,436
H 11.42 in W 7.49 in D 0.08 in
Katia, Platinum Palladium Print on Arches Paper, Signed, Small Edition
Located in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona
Katia , Platinum Palladium print on Arches Platine paper from Ian Sanderson, unframed. Edition of 12 plus 2 AP ( small Size ) Portrait of a naked woman in a fur coat lying u...
Platinum
$4,190
H 40 in W 19.13 in D 0.02 in
Zip - Signed limited edition print, Black white photo, Sensual, Contemporary
Located in Sant Cugat del Vallès, Barcelona
Zip - Signed limited edition archival pigment print , Edition of 10 This image was captured on film in 1982. From the same photoshoot, the so-called 'Stretch' print by Ian Sand...
Photographic Film, Archival Paper, Black and White, Pigment, Archival Pi...