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Expressionist Art

EXPRESSIONIST STYLE

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.

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Style: Expressionist
Easter mood
Easter mood

Easter mood

By Elena Lukina

Located in Zofingen, AG

In this oil painting, I poured my soul into capturing the tenderness of spring. The delicate blossoms, bathed in soft light, symbolize renewal and hope. I chose a harmonious symphony...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Escapade 1 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Modern, Africa
Escapade 1 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Modern, Africa

Escapade 1 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Modern, Africa

By Faith Gbadero

Located in Ibadan, Oyo

This piece was born from a moment of stillness, a quiet observation of how we carry entire landscapes within us. I kept thinking about how we often stand between mountains we did not...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

La Mort de Marat
La Mort de Marat

La Mort de Marat

By Bernard Buffet

Located in OPOLE, PL

Bernard Buffet (1928-1999) - La Mort de Marat Lithograph from 1977. The edition of 103/150. On Arches paper with watermark. Dimensions of work: 76 x 56 cm. Hand signed. The wor...

Category

1970s Expressionist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Going About Life, Painting, Oil on Wood Panel
Going About Life, Painting, Oil on Wood Panel

Going About Life, Painting, Oil on Wood Panel

By Debbie Pacheco

Located in Yardley, PA

Walking in the city I was struck by the gratitude of being able to go about life. The everyday coming and going that I sometimes take for granted suddenly brought me joy. This painti...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil

H.O. Miethke Das Werk folio "Beethovan Frieze 1 & 2" set of collotype prints
H.O. Miethke Das Werk folio "Beethovan Frieze 1 & 2" set of collotype prints

H.O. Miethke Das Werk folio "Beethovan Frieze 1 & 2" set of collotype prints

DAS WERK GUSTAV KLIMTS, a portfolio of 50 prints, ten of which are multicolor collotypes on chine colle paper laid down on hand-made heavy cream wove paper with deckled edges; under ...

Category

Early 1900s Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper

Early autumn mood. Cardboard, oil, 24x32 cm
Early autumn mood. Cardboard, oil, 24x32 cm

Early autumn mood. Cardboard, oil, 24x32 cm

By Edgars Vinters

Located in Riga, LV

Early autumn mood. 1990. Cardboard, oil, 24x32 cm This painting depicts an early autumn landscape with lively, textured brushstrokes that capture the transition between summer and f...

Category

1990s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil, Cardboard

H.O. Miethke Das Werk folio "The Great Poplar II (Thunderstorm)" collotype print

H.O. Miethke Das Werk folio "The Great Poplar II (Thunderstorm)" collotype print

DAS WERK GUSTAV KLIMTS, a portfolio of 50 prints, ten of which are multicolor collotypes on chine colle paper laid down on hand-made heavy cream wove paper with deckled edges; under ...

Category

Early 1900s Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper

Sailing at Sunset By Kate Heiss
Sailing at Sunset By Kate Heiss

Sailing at Sunset By Kate Heiss

By Kate Heiss

Located in Deddington, GB

limited_edition Oil based inks on 300gsm Somerset Velvet Paper Edition number 50 Image size: H:30 cm x W:30 cm Complete Size of Unframed Work: H:40 cm x W:40 cm x D:1cm Sold Unf...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Bromoil

The world belongs to you!
The world belongs to you!

The world belongs to you!

By Elena Lukina

Located in Zofingen, AG

In this painting, I've captured the serene moment of a woman caressed by the gentle hues of a sunset at the coast. Through the blend of realism and impressionism in oils, I sought to...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Raventos Piano and Scores original expressionist acrylic canvas painting
Raventos Piano and Scores original expressionist acrylic canvas painting

Raventos Piano and Scores original expressionist acrylic canvas painting

By Maria Asuncion Raventos

Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL

Piano and scores original expressionist acrylic canvas painting RAVENTÓS Mª Assumpció – (San Sadurní d’Anoia, Barcelona 1930). Raventos trained at the elite Sant Jordi School of Fine...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas

Gerlach's Allegorien Plate #30: "Love" Lithograph
Gerlach's Allegorien Plate #30: "Love" Lithograph

Gerlach's Allegorien Plate #30: "Love" Lithograph

By Koloman Moser

Located in Palm Beach, FL

Koloman Moser (1868 –1918), AUSTRIAN Instead of applying his flair and art education solely to painting, Koloman Moser embodied the idea of Gesamt Kunstwerk (all-embracing art w...

Category

1890s Expressionist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Bradley Chance Hays "Dance of the Wild" Modern Watercolor Horse Equine Painting
Bradley Chance Hays "Dance of the Wild" Modern Watercolor Horse Equine Painting

Bradley Chance Hays "Dance of the Wild" Modern Watercolor Horse Equine Painting

By Bradley Chance Hays

Located in Saratoga Springs, NY

"Dance of the Wild" is a 29.5x21.5 (framed dimensions) 21 x 15 (unframed dimensions) original a mixed media ink and watercolor painting by Bradley Chance Hays. An expressive waterco...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Ink, Mixed Media, Archival Paper, Watercolor

"Begrüssung" original etching
"Begrüssung" original etching

"Begrüssung" original etching

By Käthe Kollwitz

Located in Henderson, NV

Medium: original etching. Catalogue reference: Klipstein 10. A very rich impression on cream wove paper of this Kollwitz etching, with plate tone. Plate size: 118 x 88mm (4 5/8 x 3 1...

Category

1890s Expressionist Art

Materials

Etching

Sunrise over the City, Original Painting
Sunrise over the City, Original Painting

Sunrise over the City, Original Painting

By Diana Elena Chelaru

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
Vibrant, swirling sun rays fill the sky, creating a celestial panorama above a city. The windows of the stylized buildings below reflect the galaxy of geometr...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Acrylic

German expressionist drawing of bathers by Carl Hofer 'Die Badegasten'
German expressionist drawing of bathers by Carl Hofer 'Die Badegasten'

German expressionist drawing of bathers by Carl Hofer 'Die Badegasten'

By Carl Hofer

Located in Petworth, West Sussex

Carl Hofer (German, 1875 – 1955) Die Badegaste II (The bathers) Black crayon on paper 19.1/4 x 15 in. (49 x 38 cm.) With studio stamp (on the reverse) and signature of the artist’s wife Elizabeth Hofer Provenance: These works come from the artist’s second wife Elizabeth and from then by descent. Carl Hofer was a German expressionist painter and the director of the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts. One of the most important painters of the Expressionist movement, his work was among those that was considered degenerate art by the Nazis. He studied in Karlsruhe under Hans Thoma. He first visited Paris in 1899 making acquaintance with Julius Meier-Graefe. In 1902 he studied in Stuttgardt and became friends with the sculptor Hermann Haller...

Category

20th Century Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper, Crayon

Modernist Encaustic Painting Portrait Boston Expressionist
Modernist Encaustic Painting Portrait Boston Expressionist

Modernist Encaustic Painting Portrait Boston Expressionist

By David Aronson

Located in Surfside, FL

Bears old label verso from Raydon Gallery in New York city. Aronson, David 1923- David Aronson, son of a rabbi, was born in Lithuania in 1923 and immigrated to America at the age of ...

Category

20th Century Expressionist Art

Materials

Encaustic

Inspired by Monet "Flowers in a vase"
Inspired by Monet "Flowers in a vase"

Inspired by Monet "Flowers in a vase"

By Elena Lukina

Located in Zofingen, AG

In painting this piece, I poured my admiration for the dance between light and color onto the canvas, capturing the ephemeral beauty of flora. Each stroke is imbued with the energy o...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Thunderstorm (The Large Poplar II) by Gustav Klimt, Das Werk lifetime collotype
Thunderstorm (The Large Poplar II) by Gustav Klimt, Das Werk lifetime collotype

Thunderstorm (The Large Poplar II) by Gustav Klimt, Das Werk lifetime collotype

By Gustav Klimt

Located in Chicago, IL

Original collotype created from Gustav Klimt’s Approaching Thunderstorm (The Large Poplar II), painted in 1903. Published and edited by Verlag H.O. Miethke and printed by k.k. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, Vienna, in an edition of 300. Between 1908 and 1914, H.O. Miethke published Das Werk Gustav Klimts, a folio of collotypes representing Gustav Klimt’s most notable works leading up to 1913. Klimt’s original oil paintings were painstakingly reproduced as collotypes on a handmade, deckled-edge cream wove paper using a complex gravure process overseen by master technicians as well as the artist himself. Each image presented in the folio was assigned its own unique signet, which was designed by Klimt and struck below the image using a technique similar to letterpress. The signet corresponded to a matching signet in the justification page which detailed the piece’s size, location, and owner. Published under the artist’s direct supervision, this series allowed Klimt, who had completely divorced himself from public commissions following the outcry from his University of Vienna paintings, to more effectively present his artworks to institutions and patrons across the world. A testament to the masterful design and printmaking demonstrated by Das Werk Gustav Klimts, Emperor Franz Joseph himself purchased the first copy of the folio. Klimt’s The Swamp...

Category

Early 1900s Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper

Infants of the Choir
Infants of the Choir

Jean JansemInfants of the Choir

$54,400Sale Price|20% Off

Infants of the Choir

By Jean Jansem

Located in New York, NY

Tis painting is included in the exhibition catalogue of 1986.

Category

Late 20th Century Expressionist Art

Materials

Paint

Sharron Evans Gold Leaf Horse Contemporary Expressionist Oil Painting
Sharron Evans Gold Leaf Horse Contemporary Expressionist Oil Painting

Sharron Evans Gold Leaf Horse Contemporary Expressionist Oil Painting

Located in Denver, CO

A striking and highly collectible contemporary expressionist painting by Sharron Evans, this luminous equine composition combines oil painting with genuine gold leaf to create a powe...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Gold Leaf

Bright new day, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Bright new day, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

Bright new day, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

By LE ANH TUAN

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...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Acrylic

Coffee Peloton (cp07_Nov23)
Coffee Peloton (cp07_Nov23)

Coffee Peloton (cp07_Nov23)

By Eliza Southwood

Located in Deddington, GB

Original Artwork by Eliza Southwood made from specially treated coffee and then submitted to a further setting treatment. Additional  information: Eliza Southwood Coffee on paper So...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper, Coffee

Spring Green, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Spring Green, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

Spring Green, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

By silvia vassileva

Located in Yardley, PA

This long horizontal landscape is inspired by the fresh green color of spring fields and the blooming sunflowers in early June. The painting has high contrast for a dramatic effect. ...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Acrylic

Setting Sun, Original Painting
Setting Sun, Original Painting

Setting Sun, Original Painting

By Diana Elena Chelaru

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
In awe of the images from the James Webb Telescope, artist Diana Elena Chelaru creates a series inspired by the depths of the universe. The mystery and vibran...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Acrylic

Woman with Earrings, Portrait of a Woman by Philadelphia Artist
Woman with Earrings, Portrait of a Woman by Philadelphia Artist

Woman with Earrings, Portrait of a Woman by Philadelphia Artist

By Bernard Harmon

Located in Doylestown, PA

"Woman with Earrings" is an oil on board portrait painting by Philadelphia born Expressionist painter Bernard Harmon of an elegantly dressed woman sitting on a chair. This work features a second environmental portrait on verso. The painting is 40" x 34" in size and is signed "Harmon" on verso. Figurative expressionism in the style of Alice Neel. Provenance: Estate of the Artist; Gratz Gallery & Conservation Studio, Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Bernard Harmon was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1935. Harmon was primarily a portrait painter and a well loved teacher in the Philadelphia area. A graduate of the Philadelphia Museum School and Temples Tyler School of Art, Harmon traveled extensively in Europe and South America. Beloved by many, Harmon taught in the Philadelphia School District for 32 of his 54 years of life. Beginning his career as an art teacher at West Philadelphia High School, in the early 1960s he became one of the district's artists in residence, traveling from school to school to demonstrate for students how an artist works. Returning to the classroom, Harmon joined the art department at Central High School where he taught for 14 years and became an innovator in art curriculum, developing a program offering advanced placement art classes to gifted students. In his final years Harmon became a supervisor, mentoring teachers and overseeing programs in the Philadelphia school systems District #1. During his short life Harmon taught collage preparatory art classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, summer classes at the University of the Arts, and a Saturday program for gifted children at Drexel University. Among Harmon's portraits were commissioned by Philadelphia Jazz organist Jimmy Smith and Mayor Richardson Dilworth. Bernard Harmon was active in promoting African American Artist throughout his life time. He organized many early shows such as the "Afro American Artists 1800 - 1969" at the Museum of the Philadelphia Civic Center in 1969. He was considered a Renaissance man by friends and colleagues for his interests not only in art but music and theater as well. He was familiar and friends with many other African American artists such as Doc Thrash, Selma Burke...

Category

1970s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Paul Manes - Palaz of the Hoon, Painting 2008

Paul Manes - Palaz of the Hoon, Painting 2008

By Paul Manes

Located in Stamford, CT

Paul Manes was born May 4, 1948, in Austin, Texas. He began his professional career in New York City in the early 1980s. His art has been widely exhibited in America and Europe and h...

Category

Early 2000s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Paint, Oil

Untitled

JÖRG IMMENDORFFUntitled, 1982

$720Sale Price|20% Off

Untitled

Located in New York, NY

Linocut in colors on wove paper, signed and dated in pencil lower right and numbered 'III 50/50' on the verso, published by Maximilian Verlag/Sabine Knust, Munich, the full sheet, fr...

Category

1980s Expressionist Art

Materials

Linocut

Snowman with a flashlight 30X25
Snowman with a flashlight 30X25

Snowman with a flashlight 30X25

By Elena Lukina

Located in Zofingen, AG

In my painting, I've poured my soul into capturing the whimsical joy and innocent warmth of winter's magic. Brushstrokes of oil dance across the canvas, framing a cheerful snowman as...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil

Happy snowman 30X30
Happy snowman 30X30

Happy snowman 30X30

By Elena Lukina

Located in Zofingen, AG

In this oil painting, I've captured a moment of pure, childlike wonder—a cheerful snowman set against a winter twilight. Its bright, lively colors evoke innocence and nostalgia, invi...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil

Still life with flowers and apple. Oil on paper, 39. 5 x 30 cm
Still life with flowers and apple. Oil on paper, 39. 5 x 30 cm

Still life with flowers and apple. Oil on paper, 39. 5 x 30 cm

By Victor Karnauh

Located in Riga, LV

Still life with flowers and apple. Oil on paper, 39. 5 x 30 cm Victor Karnauh (1950, Dnepropetrovsk Oblast, Ukrainian SSR – 2012, Dnepropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine) – a painter, a monu...

Category

1990s Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper, Oil

Snowy roofs. Oil on canvas, 54 x 73, 5 cm
Snowy roofs. Oil on canvas, 54 x 73, 5 cm

Snowy roofs. Oil on canvas, 54 x 73, 5 cm

By Aleksandr Rodin

Located in Riga, LV

Snowy roofs. Oil on canvas, 54x73,5 cm Aleksandr Rodin (1922-2001) Painter Born in a family of farmers. Wife Rasma Lace - art scholar. Studied at the Stalingrad School of Art, Sarat...

Category

1980s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Expressionist art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Expressionist art available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add art created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of orange, blue, purple, green and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Iryna Kastsova, George Grosz, Stephen Basso, and Marc Chagall. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Oil Paint and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Expressionist art, so small editions measuring 1 inches across are also available.