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.
$12,000Sale Price|20% Off
"Crouching Woman" Bronze Sculpture by Felipe Castañeda, Circa 1972, III/VI
Located in San Francisco, CA
Felipe Castañeda Mujer Agachada (Crouching Woman), 1972 Bronze, wood base 12 x 9.5 x 11.5 inches Edition III/VI Most recent owners acquired this limited-edition bronze sculpture fro...
Bronze
Large Modernist Bronze Abstract Figural Sculpture "Family" Wolfgang Behl
Located in Surfside, FL
This is a mid 20th century mod abstract large bronze sculpture by Wolfgang Behl (German/American, 1918-1994). The sculptural group titled "The Family" features a mother and father with two children. Numbered 20/20. Signed. 21" H x 10 1/4" x 10 1/4 Wolfgang (Johann Wolfgang) Behl (1918 - 1994) was active/lived in Connecticut, Illinois / Germany. Known for Sculpture and as an architectural carver. A carver,designer, and teacher, Wolfgang Behl was born in Berlin, Germany where he studied at the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts. His teacher was otto Hitzberger, sculptor and architecture carver. I have seen some his work, particularly in carved wood compared to Constantin Brancusi although this one seems way more reminiscent of Alberto Giacometti. In 1939, Behl came to the United States and taught briefly in Pennsylvania at the Perkiomen School and in Rhode Island at the Rhode Island School of Design. There in 1943, he won the Joseph N. Eisendrath prize for sculpture. He also became a friend of Louis Mayer, sculptor from Milwaukee. In 1944, Behl took a job as Art Director at the Lake Forest Academy in Lake Forest, Illinois, and he also began a one-year teaching assignment at the Layton School of Art in Milwaukee. The last years of his life until his death were in Hartford, Connecticut. Source: Peter C. Merrill, "German-Immigrant Artists in Early Milwaukee" Originally from Berlin, Germany, Mr. Behl immigrated to the United States in 1939 and became a citizen in 1947. He studied with Waldemar Raemisch at the Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin, and later at the Rhode Island School of Design. He began teaching at the Hartford Art School in 1955, retiring in 1983 to devote his time to sculpting. Mr. Behl had exhibitions throughout the United States and Germany. Some of his solo exhibitions include the Arts Exclusive in Simsbury from 1976 to 1981, and the Bertha Schaefer Gallery in New York City from 1950 to 1973. He showed at the New Britain Museum of American Art, in New Britain, Connecticut in 1969. He also had several retrospectives, including one at the Greater Hartford Jewish Community Center in West Hartford until the end of this month. His works in bronze have a German Expressionist quality to them a pathos found in the works of Kathe Kollwitz and the Expressionist movement. He was known for his classically inspired, but often surrealist sculpture. Among his most-well known pieces are a series of sculptures done for the University of Connecticut Health Center. Several examples of Behl’s work are found on the campus of the University of Hartford. He was included in the show Monumentality in Modern Sculpture at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Texas, 1957. Artists featured in the exhibition: Kenneth Armitage, Hans Arp, Ernst Barlach, Wolfgang Behl, Dorothy Dehner, Edgar Degas, José de Rivera, Max Ernst, Alberto Giacometti, Joseph Glasco, Julio González, Paul Granlund...
Marble, Bronze
Standing Nude Man, Expressionist Bronze Sculpture, possibly by Arbit Blatas
Located in Long Island City, NY
Unknown Artist, Possibly Arbit Blatas - Standing Nude Man, Medium: Bronze Sculpture, Size: 14.25 x 3.5 x 3.5 in. (36.2 x 8.89 x 8.89 cm)
Bronze
Mother and Newborn Child, Nude Bronze Sculpture by Kuno Lange
By Kuno Lange
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Kuno Lange, German (1950 - ) Title: Mother and Newborn Year: 1997 Medium: Bronze Sculpture, signature and number on base Edition: 2/9 Size: 28 in. x 7 in. x 3.5 in. (71.12 cm...
Bronze
Torso
By Vladimir Yankilevsky
Located in PARIS, FR
Vladimir Yankilevsky (1938–2018) was a major Russian artist of the second half of the twentieth century, associated with the Soviet nonconformist movement. His work is distinguished ...
Bronze
$10,150
Untitled (Nude) Bronze Sculpture, Expressionist, Signed, Edition of 10, 1994
Located in Aventura, FL
Bronze sculpture. Incised signature by the artist and numbered. Artwork is in excellent condition. Edition of 10. Certificate of authenticity included. All reasonable offers will be ...
Bronze
$28,809
H 34.65 in W 9.85 in
Quis Mihi Iniuriam Facet Bronze Sculpture Nude Boy Male Figure Marble
Located in Utrecht, NL
Quis Mihi Iniuriam Facet Bronze Sculpture Nude Boy Male Figure Marble Stone Wim van der Kant (1949, Kampen) is a selftaught artist. Next to his busy profession as a teacher at a high school, he intensively practises his profession as a sculptor. Only when his work would measure up to his own standards, he decided to present it to the rest of the world...
Marble, Bronze
Swan Diver Male Mini
Located in Somerset West, WC
Swan Diver Male Mini is a limited edition bronze sculpture. Created with the lost wax casting process. We have a brown and a nickel plated version available. There is also a medium ...
Bronze
$9,798
H 16.54 in W 7.88 in
Gallulus Bronze Sculpture Nude Boy Male Figure Green Patina Marble Stone
Located in Utrecht, NL
Gallulus Bronze Sculpture Nude Boy Male Figure Green Patina Marble Stone Wim van der Kant (1949, Kampen) is a selftaught artist. Next to his busy profess...
Marble, Bronze
$10,887
H 12.21 in W 7.88 in
Bufo Contemporary Bronze Sculpture Nude Boy Marble Stone Male Figure
Located in Utrecht, NL
Bufo Contemporary Bronze Sculpture Nude Boy Marble Stone Male Figure Wim van der Kant (1949, Kampen) is a selftaught artist. Next to his busy profession as a teacher at a high school, he intensively practises his profession as a sculptor. Only when his work would measure up to his own standards, he decided to present it to the rest of the world. In 1995, he exhibited for the first time with Morren Galleries. Van der Kant desires to sculpt young people who still stand uninhibited and curiously in life. The reason he chooses to sculpt boys is, because he is one himself, this way the subject is closer to him. The anatomy of his figures testify of perfectionism. Van der Kant's subjects show similarities with the sculptures from the Greek and Roman antiquity...
Marble, Bronze
$8,500
H 21 in W 13 in
1961 Coty Award Plaque Kenneth Hairdresser Jacqueline Onassis Bronze Fashion
Located in New York, NY
1961 Coty Award Plaque Kenneth Hairdresser Jacqueline Onassis Bronze Fashion Bronze on wood. The wood plaque measures 12 3/4" by 20 3/4 inches. The bronze plaque itself is 13 3/4 x 8 3/4 inches and the the bronze inscription, which reads "COTY, American Fashion Critics Special Award 1961 to KENNETH of LILY DACHE...
Bronze
$17,149
H 19.69 in W 7.88 in
Ad Dextram Bronze Sculpture Nude Boy Male Figure Marble Stone
Located in Utrecht, NL
Ad Dextram Bronze Sculpture Nude Boy Male Figure Marble Stone Wim van der Kant (1949, Kampen) is a selftaught artist. Nex...
Marble, Bronze
$17,230
H 27.56 in W 7.88 in D 7.88 in
Aquila Bronze Sculpture Nude Boy Marble Stone Contemporary In Stock
Located in Utrecht, NL
Aquila Bronze Sculpture Nude Boy Marble Stone Contemporary In Stock - Sculpture without Stone is 57 cm high Wim van der Kant (1949, Kampen) is a selftaught a...
Marble, Bronze
$17,230
H 20.87 in W 3.94 in
Aestus Bronze Sculpture Marble Stone Nude Boy Contemporary
Located in Utrecht, NL
Aestus Bronze Sculpture Marble Stone Nude Boy Contemporary Wim van der Kant (1949, Kampen) is a selftaught artist. Next to his busy profession as a teacher ...
Marble, Bronze
$9,390
H 16.15 in W 15.75 in
Ausum Bronze Contemporary Sculpture Marble Stone Nude Boy Male Figure
Located in Utrecht, NL
Ausum Bronze Contemporary Sculpture Marble Stone Nude Boy Male Figure Wim van der Kant (1949, Kampen) is a selftaught artist. Next to his busy profession as a teacher at a high scho...
Marble, Bronze
$42,500
H 42 in W 28 in D 48 in
Seated Mercury Life-Size Bronze Sculpture, Italian, Late 19th Century
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Seated Mercury (Hermes) — Grand Tour Life-Size Bronze Italian School (possibly Naples) Italy, Late 19th–Early 20th Century This commanding life-size Grand Tour bronze depicts Mercury (Hermes) seated in quiet repose upon a rock, rendered with classical authority and exceptional refinement. The youthful god’s finely modeled anatomy, serene, introspective expression, and distinctive winged sandals draw directly from the celebrated ancient prototype, creating a sculpture of enduring presence and balance. Fully restored and ready to place, the bronze presents beautifully for interior display or garden installation, where its patinated surface responds richly to natural light. The composition derives from the renowned Seated Mercury discovered on August 3, 1758, in the peristyle garden of the Villa dei Papiri at Herculaneum. The ancient original—now housed in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli—became a touchstone of classical taste and a must-see for Grand Tour travelers of the 18th and 19th centuries, admired for its harmony, restraint, and technical mastery. Cast in richly toned bronze and finished with a nuanced patina, this example exemplifies the Neapolitan tradition of Grand Tour bronzes, prized for archaeological fidelity and sculptural finesse. Its impressive scale and poised silhouette make it a significant focal point in both modern and classical settings—an object that bridges antiquity and the cultivated collecting culture of the Grand Tour. Notable Related Examples: Getty Villa · Kunsthistorisches Museum · Villa San Michele...
Bronze
$3,334
H 11.82 in W 3.94 in D 3.15 in
Grand Tour sculpture “Archer”, Otto Lessing, gilt bronze and onyx, Germany
Located in Valladolid, ES
One of a kind and masterpiece sculpture “Archer” (“Bogenschütze,” original German title) in gilt bronze, a work by Otto Lessing, based on an original design from 1908. Many small-sc...
Marble, Bronze
Swan Diver Male Life-Size
Located in Somerset West, WC
Swan Diver Male Life-Size is a limited edition bronze sculpture. Created with the lost wax casting process. This sculpture does not include the base, but does include a stainless s...
Bronze
Sold
H 11.03 in W 5.12 in D 4.73 in
Earthbound Wanderer, 2023, One of Seven Lost-Wax Bronze Sculpture, Expressionist
Located in FISTERRA, ES
Organic expressionist lost-wax bronze sculpture channels Giacometti-inspired textures and natural mold irregularities in an earthbound human form. This original edition piece—Replica...
Bronze
Sold
H 9 in W 8 in
Fine 1950's French Expressionist Sculpture in Clay Nude Lady Model c.1950's
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Black Nude Sculpture by Josine Vignon (French 1922-2022) painted clay, approx: 9 x 8 inches provenance: the artists estate
Clay
Sold
H 4 in W 9 in
Fine 1950's French Expressionist Sculpture in Clay Nude Lady Model
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
The Artists Model by Josine Vignon, French 1922-2022 clay sculpture approx 4 x 9 inches provenance: the artists estate
Clay
Sold
H 21 in W 10.25 in D 10.25 in
Large Modernist Bronze Abstract Figural Sculpture "Family" Wolfgang Behl
Located in Surfside, FL
This is a mid 20th century mod abstract large bronze sculpture by Wolfgang Behl (German/American, 1918-1994). The sculptural group titled "The Family" features a mother and father with two children. Numbered 20/20. Signed. 21" H x 10 1/4" x 10 1/4 Wolfgang (Johann Wolfgang) Behl (1918 - 1994) was active/lived in Connecticut, Illinois / Germany. Known for Sculpture and as an architectural carver. A carver,designer, and teacher, Wolfgang Behl was born in Berlin, Germany where he studied at the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts. His teacher was otto Hitzberger, sculptor and architecture carver. I have seen some his work, particularly in carved wood compared to Constantin Brancusi although this one seems way more reminiscent of Alberto Giacometti. In 1939, Behl came to the United States and taught briefly in Pennsylvania at the Perkiomen School and in Rhode Island at the Rhode Island School of Design. There in 1943, he won the Joseph N. Eisendrath prize for sculpture. He also became a friend of Louis Mayer...
Marble, Bronze
Seated Woman, Nude Bronze Sculpture by Kuno Lange
By Kuno Lange
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Kuno Lange, German (1950 - ) Title: Seated Nude Woman Year: 1996 Medium: Bronze Sculpture with Black Patina, signature and number inscribed Edition: 3/9 Size: 17 in. x 18 in....
Bronze
Leda and the Swan
By Eugenie Gershoy
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Fine bronze, signed and numbered. 8 Inches tall over all. Beautiful patina, in fine condition. The following is submitted by Cornelia Seckel, publisher Art Times Profile: Eugenie Gershoy By RAYMOND J. STEINER Art Times November 1984 EUGENIE GERSHOY: an emigre from a pogrom-threatening Russia, a member of a distinguished family of the intelligentsia, a life-long artist whose career began before the age of four, a woman of eclectic tastes and cultured learning seasoned with a loving and satirical eyehow and where does one begin to capture her in all her facets? Largely a natural talent with a smattering of formal training, it has been through sheer force of her irrepressible creativity that she has attained a stature and versatility in the world of art that few can match. Represented in almost every major collection (the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Museum of American Art, the Syracuse Museum of American Art, the Delgado Museum of Art, Skidmore College of Fine Art, to name a few), she has exhibited her work in numerous shows from New York and west to San Francisco and south to New Orleans, culminating in her most recent, a special show of her sculptures entitled "Fantasy and Imagination in Sculpture" at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. which will continue until January 20,1985. Honors and awards began as early as 1914 when she received the St. Gaudens medal for fine draftsmanship and have continued throughout her career of creating, of teaching and active membership in over twenty gallery and art associations. A recent article in the Smithsonian was the last of almost fifty such pieces on either herself or on her art in various publications from across the country and from as early as the'30's. The astonishing diversity of her life's work is scarcely hinted at in the accompanying photographs. To select any one aspect of Ms. Gershoy's life or work would, of course, lead to distortion and an incomplete picture of her contribution. Fortunately, in addition to being a fine artist, she is highly literate and capable of verbalizing her own growth and artistic concepts, sharing copious notes that she has saved over the years. (An example of her writing and expressions on art can be found in the "SPEAK OUT" section of this issue of ART TIMES.) A chronological highlighting of her career, therefore, seems the only way to do her justice. Exposed to the "masters" in a collection of art books owned by her parents, Ms. Gershoy "drew assiduously from the age of three on" At five, she was copying Michelangelo, Rafael, and daVinci never suspecting that these were, in fact, reproductions of sculpture in three dimensions. Eventually, she drew from life, adding a lively sense of color as she experimented with crayons, colored inks, watercolors, and oils. At thirteen, she set about illustrating "Little Women." Resolving to become a painter and illustrator, she took advantage of a scholarship and entered the Art Students League of New York. Disappointed that the painting class was full, she turned to leave only to be stopped by a young woman who suggested she take a modeling course instead. "What is modeling?" was her immediate response, not having any knowledge of sculpture up until that point. The young woman was Hannah Small...
Bronze
Reclining Woman
By Lucien Lafont
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Lucien Lafont, French Title: Reclining Woman Medium: Terra Cotta Sculpture, signed on bottom Size: 5.5 in. x 20 in. x 4 in. (13.97 cm x 50.8...
Terracotta