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.
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
Manhattanhenge Phenomenon, Mystical Light Setting Sun, Manhattan Solstice
Located in Miami, FL
Mitchell Funk has been chronicling lighting effects in New York for over 50 years. This recent photography captures the magical moment of golden light pouring into 42nd street while...
Photographic Paper, Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
Abstract Church - Manipulated Photography
Located in Miami, FL
This is an early example of photo manipulation. Photographer put a match to the 35mm emulsion to the burned bubble effect and then sandwiched it with colored gels in a double exposur...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment
Abstract Church - Manipulated Photography
Located in Miami, FL
This ia an early example of photo manipulation. Photographer put a match to the 35mm emulsion to the burned bubble effect and then sandwiched it with colored gels in a double exposur...
Photographic Paper, Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment
Dog Walker in Central Park Snow
Located in Miami, FL
Simultaneously, graphic and subtle, New York's classic Central Park South skyline is puntucated with a solitary figure with two dogs Signed and dated on lower right, numbered on v...
Photographic Paper
$4,750
"No Title" Still Searching For The Title Two, Giclee Print, Color Photography
By Hatice Besun
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Still Searching For The Title / No Title 2 / Photograph Creator: Hatice Besun Creation year: 2022 Dimension: 19 x 13 External Dimension( with white border) Height:19.8 inch Width:13...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Archival Pigment, Giclée
Sound of the Sea
By Harold Davis
Located in Boston, MA
Artist Commentary: Using an x-ray photograph as its basis, this expressive study in motion echoes work by Picasso and other modernists. Words that describe this piece: shell, Nauti...
Photographic Paper
Peonies, Campanulas, and Variegated Gladiolas
By Harold Davis
Located in Boston, MA
Artist Commentary: This romantic pano looks as much like a watercolor as it does like a photo! Words that describe this piece: garden, flower, flowers, peonies, gladiolas Artist B...
Photographic Paper
$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
Old Las Vegas Dunes Hotel Neon
Located in Miami, FL
Mitchell Funk was a trailblazer in shooting neon signs with dramatic angles, acute compostion and powerful color. Although this is a nocturnal image it has vibrant life energy. ...
Inkjet
Rain in Manhattan
Located in Miami, FL
Signed and dated on lower right, numbered on verso, Edition 4 of 15 Unframed. Printed later, Other size available
Photographic Paper
Bryant Park, New York City
Located in Miami, FL
Negative Color with colored gels creates a wonderfully fantasy of a classic urban park. The work was done in 1971 during the Psychedelic period. Signed , dated lower right, Edition ...
Photographic Paper