Skip to main content

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.

to
1,156
1,977
1,088
1,104
861
973
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
1
47
2,818
3,144
99
131
353
108
76
174
485
277
263
192
1
117,638
64,455
56,572
28,400
14,668
9,604
6,755
4,187
3,151
2,542
2,330
2,143
590
3,259
2,006
642
2,532
1,568
1,554
982
732
420
404
400
368
319
298
275
270
226
199
164
136
112
108
103
3,778
2,228
1,894
1,830
1,407
302
91
88
72
51
1,207
435
2,981
2,203
Style: Expressionist
"Odalisque yellow" Oil , cm. 40 x 50 1937  free shipping
"Odalisque yellow" Oil , cm. 40 x 50 1937  free shipping

"Odalisque yellow" Oil , cm. 40 x 50 1937 free shipping

By Giulio da Milano

Located in Torino, IT

Odalisque ,yellow,orange, orient Giulio DA MILANO (Nizza, 1895 - Torino, 1990) Giulio Da Milano was a Giacomo Grosso's disciple and he was very close to the artists that used to patronize La Coupole de Montparnasse (from Kisling to Pascin, from Derain to Vlaminck). He is considered one of most representative exponents of the Turin’s artistic scene in the ‘30s-‘40s, close to the Gruppo dei Sei. His works can be found in the following museums: Turin, Modern Art Gallery...

Category

1930s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Trees landscape, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Trees landscape, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

Trees landscape, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

By LE ANH TUAN

Located in Yardley, PA

In this piece, I embraced nature's renewal, channeling the vibrant vitality of spring through my brush. Employing acrylics, I layered hues and textures to convey the blossoming e...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Acrylic

Kostume, Plakate, und Dekorationen, "Flower of Evil"
Kostume, Plakate, und Dekorationen, "Flower of Evil"

Kostume, Plakate, und Dekorationen, "Flower of Evil"

By Walter Schnackenberg

Located in Palm Beach, FL

Walter Schnackenberg’s style changed several times during his long and successful career. Having studied in Munich, the artist traveled often to Paris where he fell under the spell of the Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s colorful and sensuous posters depicting theatrical and decadent subjects. Schnackenberg became a regular contributor of similar compositions to the German magazines Jugend and Simplicissimus before devoting himself to the design of stage scenery and costumes. In the artist’s theatrical work, his mastery of form, ornamentation, and Orientalism became increasingly evident. He excelled at combining fluid Art Nouveau outlines, with spiky Expressionist passages, and the postures and patterns of the mysterious East. In his later years, Schnackenberg explored the unconscious, using surreal subject matter and paler colors that plainly portrayed dreams and visions, some imbued with political connotations. His drawings, illustrations, folio prints, and posters are highly sought today for their exceedingly imaginative qualities, enchanting subject matter, and arresting use of color. SCHNACKENBERG: KOSTUME, PLAKATE UND DEKORATIONEN, a cardboard bound art book consisting of 43 prints of work by Walter Schnackenberg, 30 of which are color lithographs that are signed and some are titled and dated in the plate, as well as black and white prints and photographs with accompanying text by Oskar Bie; lithographs printed at Kunstanstalt Oskar Consee in Munich, other images printed by Gesellschaft Pick & Co. in Munich, the text and cover with color images by Schnackenberg front and verso printed by R. Oldenbourg in Munich; published by Musarion Verlag, Munich, 1920. The majority of Walter Schnackenberg’s artistic output was destroyed by bomb attacks in Munich in 1944. The highly publicized 2013 auction in New York of the recovered pre-war poster collection once belonging to German poster aficionado, Hans Sachs...

Category

1910s Expressionist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Portrait of a Geisha
Portrait of a Geisha

Portrait of a Geisha

By Roland Strasser

Located in Amsterdam, NL

Roland Strasser (1895-1974) "Japanese Geisha" Signed lower right Oil and gold leaf on canvas, measures: 76 x 46 cm In fine white-wash wood frame. ...

Category

1930s Expressionist Art

Materials

Gold Leaf

Colorful water lily, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Colorful water lily, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

Colorful water lily, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas

By LE ANH TUAN

Located in Yardley, PA

In a fervent dance of color and texture, I've brought to life the serene beauty of nature's gentle floaters, the water lilies. Through energetic brush strokes in acrylics, my vision ...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Acrylic

Still life. 2007, oil on canvas, 60x73 cm

Still life. 2007, oil on canvas, 60x73 cm

By Sergey Inkatov

Located in Riga, LV

Still life. 2007, oil on canvas, 60x73 cm Sergey Inkatov Was born: 13.09.1971 in Baku. Painter Sergey Inkatov belongs to young generation of artists of Estonia. He was born in Ba...

Category

Early 2000s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

R. Layni, Zeichnungen folio, "Kneeling Female Semi-Nude" Collotype plate XII

R. Layni, Zeichnungen folio, "Kneeling Female Semi-Nude" Collotype plate XII

Located in Palm Beach, FL

Egon Schiele (1890 – 1918), AUSTRIA “ART CANNOT BE MODERN, ART IS PRIMORDIALLY ETERNAL.” -SCHIELE Defiantly iconoclastic in life and art, Egon Schiele is esteemed for his masterful draftsmanship and precocious insight into the human condition. Part of the first wave of Austrian Modernism, he was swept away by the Viennese fascination with the tension between Life and Death (known in the works of Freud and his later interpreters as Eros and Thanatos). Life, identified with attraction, love, sexuality, and reproduction, and Death, represented by distortion, disease, repulsion, and hysteria, often appeared in the same composition, thereby suggesting the frightening life cycle of the human mind and body. Young throughout his career, Schiele universalized his childhood traumas, thriving libido, insecurities, fears, and longings. His contorted line, jarring contrasts, and flat areas of color, demonstrate an early alliance with Expressionist philosophy and artists who were relentlessly frustrated by conventionality in all its forms. Schiele’s work embodied man’s disorientation and confusion in a seemingly absurd world, a world plagued by disease and war. It continues to be astonishingly relevant today, not just because it helped define Modernism but also because it revealed the dark and immutable aspects of the human condition. Zeichnungen is a fine art print portfolio published by Verlag der Buchhandlung Richard Lanyi, Vienna, 1917, printed by Max Jaffe...

Category

1910s Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper

Come away with me, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Come away with me, Painting, Oil on Canvas

Come away with me, Painting, Oil on Canvas

By Julia Borg

Located in Yardley, PA

Pure beauty lies in harmony, which expresses individuality. Each flower is beautiful, each is endowed with its own uniqueness. A person is able not only to notice and analyze the bea...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil

Untitled (Support series)

Untitled (Support series)

By Robert Fleming

Located in Buffalo, NY

An original oil on mylar by American contemporary artist Robert Fleming from the artist's Support Series. The work is 36" (h) x 40" (w) unframed.

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Mylar, Oil

Mother to Son, Sunrise Is Coming After While
Mother to Son, Sunrise Is Coming After While

Mother to Son, Sunrise Is Coming After While

By Phoebe Beasley

Located in Southampton, NY

Silkscreen on vélin d’Arches paper. Paper Size: 14 x 11 inches. Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Notes: From the folio, Bookmarks in the Pages of Life, 1998. Published by The Limited Editions Club, New York; printed by Drexel Press, Inc. Long Island City, 1998. Excerpted from the folio, CCC examples, designed, hand-set in Monotype Perpetua, printed, and hand-bound by Michael and Winifred Bixler, Skaneateles, New York. Paper made in France at Arches. Silkscreens printed by the Drexel Press, Inc. Long Island City, New York. PHOEBE BEASLEY...

Category

1990s Expressionist Art

Materials

Screen

German expressionist drawing of a Bull Elephant by Carl Hofer
German expressionist drawing of a Bull Elephant by Carl Hofer

German expressionist drawing of a Bull Elephant by Carl Hofer

By Carl Hofer

Located in Petworth, West Sussex

Carl Hofer (German, 1875 – 1955) Elefantenbulle (Bull elephant) Pencil on paper Signed with monogram ‘CH’ (lower right) 15.3/4 x 13.3/8 in. (40 x 34 cm.) 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, Pencil

Barn in Spring, Original Painting
Barn in Spring, Original Painting

Barn in Spring, Original Painting

By Robert Hofherr

Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
The expressionist landscape painting features a simple barn in Pembroke, Massachusetts. Strong morning sunlight illuminates the scene, filling the landscape wit...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Acrylic

Reminding on flowers, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Reminding on flowers, Painting, Oil on Canvas

Reminding on flowers, Painting, Oil on Canvas

By Eva Hoffmann

Located in Yardley, PA

In this oil painting, expressionism and impressionism merge with symbolic elements. I have passionately applied every brushstroke to depict emotions and memories. The powerful splash...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil

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 bru...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Acrylic

Contemporary Splatters of Vibrant Red Background w. Bull & Woman Form Painting
Contemporary Splatters of Vibrant Red Background w. Bull & Woman Form Painting

Contemporary Splatters of Vibrant Red Background w. Bull & Woman Form Painting

Located in ALCOY/ALCOI, ES

Title: «La Bruja» Collection: Muses Description: Acrylic on canvas, figurative, Vibrant, modern "Who is the witch of the big city today? How does she stand out from everyone else? She wants to break the rules and obeys her inner voice, she is not afraid to be herself, she chooses her own path, she lets magic enter her life every day, because living her life and loving herself is true magic." The artwork in question may celebrate the power and freedom of self-expression. The focus is on a woman who defies convention and chooses to live life on her own terms. She is described as a "witch," which suggests that she is seen as someone who is in touch with the mystical and the spiritual. The artwork may depict this woman as a bold and confident figure, with an unapologetic attitude and a strong sense of personal style. The imagery may be colorful and fantastical, with elements of nature and magic woven into the composition. The artwork may also convey a sense of joy and empowerment, with the message that being true to oneself is the ultimate form of magic. Overall, the artwork celebrates individuality, creativity, and the courage to pursue one's own path in life. Victoria Tsemka...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

"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

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

bright new day I paint the flowers that are plugged in my house, which makes me feel pure and gentle every day when I wake up. A great feeling! :: Painting :: Expressionism :: Thi...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Acrylic

Water Lilies
Water Lilies

Water Lilies

Located in Zofingen, AG

In creating this piece, I was captivated by the vivid dance of colors and emotions. Harnessing oil pastel and colored pencil, my strokes are charged with the excitement of pop art, t...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil Pastel, Acrylic, Satin Paper

Sunny day. 1994, oil on canvas and cardboard, 50x70 cm
Sunny day. 1994, oil on canvas and cardboard, 50x70 cm

Sunny day. 1994, oil on canvas and cardboard, 50x70 cm

By Valdis Bush

Located in Riga, LV

Sunny day. 1994, oil on canvas and cardboard, 50x70 cm Bright, colorful landscape with trees Valdis Bush (1924-2014) studied at the Art academy of Latvia (1945 – 1950), his favorit...

Category

1990s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Cardboard

Leading a horse, Painting, Oil on Canvas
Leading a horse, Painting, Oil on Canvas

Leading a horse, Painting, Oil on Canvas

By Elena Sokolova

Located in Yardley, PA

The painting portrays a tranquil scene of a woman leading a horse through shallow water. it carries a sense of tranquility, capturing a clear, sunny day with the light blue color of ...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil

H.O. Miethke Das Werk folio "Birch Forest I" collotype print

H.O. Miethke Das Werk folio "Birch Forest I" 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 each of the 50 prints is a gold signet intaglio...

Category

Early 1900s Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper

Prince Choko - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Portrait, Modern, Africa
Prince Choko - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Portrait, Modern, Africa

Prince Choko - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Portrait, Modern, Africa

By Daniel Oguche Junior

Located in Ibadan, Oyo

Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. About Artist Dan...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Charcoal

Lonewolf - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Portrait, Modern, Africa
Lonewolf - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Portrait, Modern, Africa

Lonewolf - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative, Portrait, Modern, Africa

By Daniel Oguche Junior

Located in Ibadan, Oyo

Shipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. About Artist Dan...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

signed original etching - Artist's Proof

signed original etching - Artist's Proof

By Jack Levine

Located in Henderson, NV

Medium: original soft ground etching. Signed in pencil and annotated "Artist's Proof". Printed in 1967 for the Dreigroschen Film portfolio and published by Touchstone Publishers. Thi...

Category

1960s Expressionist Art

Materials

Etching

What Lies Ahead, Painting, Oil on Canvas
What Lies Ahead, Painting, Oil on Canvas

What Lies Ahead, Painting, Oil on Canvas

By Debbie Pacheco

Located in Yardley, PA

Heading into the crowd we see what lies ahead and where the crowd in front of us has been. It's a memory, a blur for them for us there is time to take notice, see things clearly, not...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil

Fast Balls Curve Balls

Fast Balls Curve Balls

By Todd White

Located in Toronto, ON

27" x 34" Unframed Limited Edition Giclee with Hand Embellishment of 75 Hand Signed by Todd White Todd white captures restaurant, night and Hollywood scenes with contrasting colors ...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Giclée

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

"Root, " Acrylic on Canvas
"Root, " Acrylic on Canvas

"Root, " Acrylic on Canvas

By Bruno Surdo

Located in Chicago, IL

Chicago-based fine art painter Bruno A. Surdo is classically trained in drawing and oil painting in the tradition of Renaissance masters. With strong command of the human form, Surdo...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Acrylic, Mixed Media

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.