Expressionist Art
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.
1970s Expressionist Art
Stone
2010s Expressionist Art
Oil, Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art
Acrylic
1930s Expressionist Art
Oil
Late 20th Century Expressionist Art
Gouache, Oil Pastel
2010s Expressionist Art
Archival Paper, Oil
1940s Expressionist Art
Oil, Board
1970s Expressionist Art
Lithograph
1920s Expressionist Art
Lithograph, Offset
Mid-20th Century Expressionist Art
Pastel, Ink, Watercolor
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Expressionist Art
Archival Ink, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor, Archival Paper
1920s Expressionist Art
Photogravure, Paper
1950s Expressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art
C Print
1930s Expressionist Art
Paper, Gouache
Early 2000s Expressionist Art
Oil, Canvas
2010s Expressionist Art
Pastel, Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art
Acrylic
1930s Expressionist Art
Paper, Photogravure
2010s Expressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
1970s Expressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Expressionist Art
Plexiglass, Oil
1960s Expressionist Art
Watercolor
2010s Expressionist Art
Acrylic
1990s Expressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art
Ink, Pen
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
1970s Expressionist Art
Lithograph
1930s Expressionist Art
Paper
1920s Expressionist Art
Oil, Canvas
1980s Expressionist Art
Lithograph
1930s Expressionist Art
Watercolor
Mid-20th Century Expressionist Art
Etching
2010s Expressionist Art
Oil
Mid-20th Century Expressionist Art
Oil, Canvas
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art
Acrylic
1930s Expressionist Art
Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art
Canvas, Acrylic
1960s Expressionist Art
Oil
2010s Expressionist Art
Charcoal
1970s Expressionist Art
Paper, Gouache
1930s Expressionist Art
Chalk
Mid-20th Century Expressionist Art
Etching
2010s Expressionist Art
Paper, Pastel
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art
Mixed Media, Acrylic
Early 2000s Expressionist Art
Linen, Oil
Early 2000s Expressionist Art
Drypoint
Early 2000s Expressionist Art
Oil, Canvas
2010s Expressionist Art
Pastel, Paper
1950s Expressionist Art
Paper, Offset
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art
Acrylic
1930s Expressionist Art
Paper, Gouache
1920s Expressionist Art
Photogravure, Paper
Mid-20th Century Expressionist Art
Etching
1980s Expressionist Art
Acrylic, Paper, Oil
2010s Expressionist Art
Acrylic, Canvas
1910s Expressionist Art
Woodcut