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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
ORC
Located in Zofingen, AG
Embodied in this artwork is the playful spirit and simplicity of naive art, blended with the vibrant edge of pop art. I used acrylic and oil to create a piece that resonates with the...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

PEA
Located in Zofingen, AG
In my artwork, I've channeled a vibrant blend of naivety and pop art whimsy, using the lush textures of acrylic and oil to give life to a curious feline character. Primitivism and im...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

Harbor view
Located in Genève, GE
Work on cardboard Wooden frame 31 x 41 x 3 cm
Category

1960s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil

Gazing Through Ankara 2
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
"Gazing Through Ankara" is a captivating series of paintings that celebrates the beauty, diversity, and individuality of black African women through the exploration of eyewear and An...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Fabric, Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil

"Courtisane aux Yeux Baisses" from the suite "Les Fleurs du Mal""
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled "Courtisane aux Yeux Baisses" from the suite "Les Fleurs du Mal" created in 1937, is an original color aquatint on Montval paper by renown French artist Georges Rouault, 1871-1958. It is signed and dated in the plate as issue. Published by Ambroise Vollard, Paris and printed by Lacouriere, Paris. Referenced and pictured in the artist's catalogue raisonnes by Chapon plate #276, Wofsy plate #273. The plate mark (image) is 11.75 x 8.15 inches, framed size is 20.5 x 17.25 inches. Custom framed in a wooden brownish and gold frame, with fabric matting and black fillet. Artwork and frame are in excellent condition, the colors are fresh and bright. Example of this artwork is held in many museums including The National Gallery of Art. About the artist: French painter, draughtsman, printmaker and designer, Georges Rouault created a personal style of Expressionism that gives him a highly distinctive place in Modern Art. Rouault was born in 1871, in the cellar of a house in Belleville, a working class quarter of Paris near the Père Lachaise cemetery, while the city was being bombarded by government troops quelling the Paris Commune. His father was a finisher and varnisher of pianos at a local factory. Rouault's grandfather was an amateur art...
Category

Mid-20th Century Expressionist Art

Materials

Aquatint

Benet "Barcelona" - Original Cancas. urban landscape acrylic painting
Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL
"Barcelona" - Original Cancas. urban landscape acrylic painting. B. Sarsanedas Planella was born in 1942 in Rupit (Barcelona). 1957. He attends drawing and painting classes at the ...
Category

Late 20th Century Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Bouquet of Peonies with blue background
Located in New York, NY
This painting is in excellent condition with no cracks in the paint, it is not relined and the canvas has been cleaned and in excellent condition. It also has a new 23 K. gold leaf ...
Category

1960s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil

LLuis Ribas Facade Urban Landscape. original figurative
Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL
Lluís Ribas (El Masnou, Barcelona, 1949) is a Spanish painter whose large and hyper-realistic paintings reflect, above all, the beauty of women framed in nature, preferably in the se...
Category

Early 2000s Expressionist Art

Materials

Acrylic

Tour de France, original 31x40 expressionist figurative landscape
Located in Spring Lake, NJ
Lithuanian born artist Serge Ovcaruk has used his palette knife to create a figurative sporting landscape that layers the many secrets, hopes and heartac...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Acrylic

RICHARD
Located in Zofingen, AG
I crafted this painting using a vibrant mix of acrylic and oil, merging naive art with pop art energy, infusing the spirit of primitivism and a touch of impressionism. It's a visual ...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

NIRVANA
Located in Zofingen, AG
In this painting, I've infused each brushstroke with the serene jubilance of a cat blithely submersed in nature. Utilizing acrylic and oil, I've merged impressionism’s fluidity with ...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

CHERRY
Located in Zofingen, AG
In this painting, I imbued a whimsical essence, capturing innocence through naive strokes and a pop art vibe. I harmonized acrylic and oil to craft a texture-rich surface, like a tap...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

BON APPETIT !
Located in Zofingen, AG
Crafted with vibrant acrylics and oils, my painting blends naive charm with pop-art zest, primitivism's raw beauty, and impressionism's gentle touch. It captures the innocent indulge...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

FRIENDS
Located in Zofingen, AG
In this painting, I've melded vibrant acrylic and oil hues to craft an imaginative dreamscape. Embracing naive charm and pop art vibrancy with a touch of impressionism, it captures t...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

Grim Man - Original Offset and Lithograph by George Grosz - 1923
Located in Roma, IT
Grim man is an original offset and lithograph realized by George Grosz. The artwork is the plate n. 4 from the portfolio Ecce Homo published between 1922/1923, edition of Der Malik-...
Category

1920s Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper, Lithograph, Offset

Beautiful wave 30X30
Located in Zofingen, AG
This piece captures the raw, tumultuous energy of a wave at its peak, a moment both mightily powerful and intensely serene. Using expressionistic strokes and a bold realism-infused p...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Cardboard

Transparent wave
Located in Zofingen, AG
In this oil painting, I've captured the raw, dynamic energy of the sea. Harnessing expressionism and impressionism, the vivid colors and bold strokes evoke the power and majesty of t...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Crude Oil Men
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled "Crude Oil Men" c.200,0 is an original serio lithograph (serigraph and lithograph) on paper by renown American figurative expressionist artist Michael Todd White, b.1969. It is signed and numbered 321/350 in black ink by the artist The artwork (Image) Size is 21 x 15.5 inches, framed size is 32 x 26.25 inches. Custom framed in a wood veneer and black frame, with fabric matting. It is in excellent condition, the frame has a minor small rub, barely visible. About the artist: Michael Todd White (born October 10, 1969, in San Antonio, Texas) is a figurative expressionist painter.[1] He has also been described as an avant-garde expressionist. White was named the official artist for the Grammy Awards by the Recording Academy in 2007. His painting appeared on the ceremony's invitation and program book and served as the official image for the event. His work was featured in the Inspirations of Oz Fine Art Collection, an exhibition commemorating the 70th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz. The collection toured designated cities all over the world including Miami, Los Angeles, Dubai, Japan, London, Toronto and Vienna. In 2010, White was chosen to provide sketches for Coca-Cola Light in Mexico. White's six sketches are depicted on different faces of Coca-Cola Light bottles and cans, each featuring his distinctive box signature. This was the first time that Coke had collaborated with a fine artist to depict artwork for its label. The bottles were released in August 2010.[5] As a result of some of these career achievements White has earned international recognition and a lengthy list of celebrity collectors. White's work hangs in a number of galleries in North America and he is currently one of the best selling artists in the United Kingdom. Some of White's most prominent exhibitions include a show at the Bank of Scotland in Manchester, England and at the unveiling of The World's Largest Todd White Collection, hosted by CNN's Larry King at Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California. Todd White's work was featured in the opening of Clarendon Fine Art Gallery in Hampstead, London alongside that of leading British contemporary artists Sherree Valentine-Daines and Christian Hook.
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Irises on the pond
Located in Zofingen, AG
In this painting, I sought to capture the ephemeral beauty of irises by the pond's edge, reflecting my deep admiration for nature's transient moments. The oils allowed me to blend vi...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Linen

Contemporary impressionist abstract landscape nature acrylic painting on canvas
Located in VÉNISSIEUX, FR
This vibrant artwork " Happy memories" offers a vivid exploration of nature's dynamic essence, capturing a seascape with an explosion of color and energy. The painting features a s...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Acrylic

Expressionist School of Paris Oil Painting Still Life with Pear and Flowers
Located in Surfside, FL
Michel de Gallard (1921-2007) was a French painter. He is considered a member of the School of Paris and La Ruche and is associated with French artists Andre Minaux, Bernard Buffet ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

American Modernist Oil Painting Nude Male on Beach WPA Artist Group of 10
Located in Surfside, FL
Born in 1897, Ben-Zion Weinman celebrated his European Jewish heritage in his visual works as a sculptor, painter, and printmaker. Influenced by Spinoza, Knut Hamsun, and Wladyslaw Reymont, as well as Hebrew literature, Ben-Zion wrote poetry and essays that, like his visual work, attempt to reveal the deep “connection between man and the divine, and between man and earth.” An emigrant from the Ukraine, he came to the US in 1920. He wrote fairy tales and poems in Hebrew under the name Benzion Weinman, but when he began painting he dropped his last name and hyphenated his first, saying an artist needed only one name. Ben-Zion was a founding member of “The Ten: An Independent Group” The Ten” a 1930’s avant-garde group, Painted on anything handy. Ben-Zion often used cabinet...
Category

Mid-20th Century Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Isaac Friedlander, My People
Located in New York, NY
Isaac (sometimes Isac) Friedlander's large wood engraving, My People, 1944, reflects his genuine social interest. After a youth of extreme hardship, including incarceration in a czar...
Category

1940s Expressionist Art

Materials

Woodcut

Impromptu with a green apple
Located in Zofingen, AG
In creating this piece, I embraced the vibrancy of life juxtaposed with moments of serene contemplation. The lush, textured strokes capture the ephemeral beauty of the flowers, which...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Field grass cover
Located in Zofingen, AG
"In this oil painting, I've captured the vibrant essence of a meadow brought to life through harmonious colors and dynamic brushstrokes. It's the embodiment of nature's serenity and ...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Floral fantasy
Located in Zofingen, AG
In this oil painting, I wanted to capture the ethereal beauty and transcendence of nature meshed with human grace. Each stroke embodies the delicate dance between reality and fantasy...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Linen, Oil

Abstract Expressionist Rabbi Watercolor Painting Jewish American Modernist WPA
Located in Surfside, FL
Watercolor painting of standing prophet or Rabbi, Judaica artwork Born in 1897, Ben-Zion Weinman celebrated his European Jewish heritage in his visual works as a sculptor, painter, ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Pond with pink lilies
Located in Zofingen, AG
In crafting this painting, I sought to capture the tranquility and ephemeral beauty of nature. Each brushstroke is a tender embrace of the lilies' delicate dance on the water's refle...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Summer. Sea. Beach.
Located in Zofingen, AG
In this piece, I immerse the viewer in the depths of a summer atmosphere, where the sea's dynamic caress and the vibrant warmth of sunlight meet. The textures and colors in oil empha...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Two Men on a Red Background - Original Handsigned Etching / 99ex
Located in Paris, IDF
Dado (Miodrag Djuric called) (1933-2010) Two Men on a Red Background Original etching and aquatint Handsigned in pencil Numbered / 99 ex On Arches vellum 76 x 56 cm (c. 30 x 22 inch...
Category

1990s Expressionist Art

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

From the Youth - Original Offset and Lithograph by George Grosz - 1923
Located in Roma, IT
From the Youth is an original offset and lithograph realized by George Grosz. The artwork is the plate n. 3 from the portfolio Ecce Homo published between 1922/1923, edition of Der ...
Category

1920s Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper, Lithograph, Offset

Portrait of Young Girl Gouache Painting by Max Moreau
By Max Moreau
Located in Atlanta, GA
1950s portrait, gouache on paper painting by Belgian artist Max Moreau (1902 - 1992). This is a finely detailed portrait of a lovely young girl looking like a good child from right a...
Category

1950s Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper, Gouache

God, Look Down - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Women, Ocean
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 (Issued by the Gallery) About Artist Williams Merenini is a Nigerian-born visual artist who hails from Naze, Imo state. He received formal art training at Tope Fatumbi Art Studio, where he honed his artistic dexterity and also networked with creative minds in the art space, with Artists like David Olatoye...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Tennis. Figurative Oil Painting, Olympic Games, Sport, Realistic, Polish artist
Located in Warsaw, PL
The painting shows two tennis players which is one of the official sports of the Olympic Games. The tennis match has a spectacular character and dynamics well captured in the paintin...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

'Elisabeth' — German Expressionism
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Karl Michel, 'Elisabeth', woodcut, edition 20, 1923. Signed, dated, and numbered 'op.142b' and '12/20' in pencil. Signed in the block, lower left. Annotated 'Vorgesdruck' [artist’s proof] in pencil. A fine impression, on heavy fibrous Japan paper, with full margins (1 3/16 to 3 1/2 inches), in good condition. Printed by the artist, With the artist’s blindstamp in the bottom center margin. Scarce. Matted to museum standards, unframed. Image size 4 15/16 x 6 inches (131 x 152 mm); sheet size 10 x 6 inches (254 x 152 mm). ABOUT THE ARTIST Karl Michel (1889-1984) was a noted graphic designer and expressionist printmaker during Germany's pre-Nazi Weimar Republic (1919-1933). Michel’s work was the subject of a feature article in the influential German graphic design magazine Das Plakat (The Poster) in 1920. An anti-war advocate, Michel created a suite of 12 wood engravings depicting his impressions of the humanitarian toll of WWII entitled ‘Humanitas’ (Humanity). The German publishing house Greifenverlag published the series in a reduced folio of unsigned prints. Michel’s graphic work is held in the permanent collections of the Auckland War Memorial Museum (New Zealand), Frederikshavn Kunstmuseum & Exlibrissamling (Denmark), Museum of Applied Arts (Budapest), The Robert Gore Rifkind Center for German Expressionist Studies at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the German Expressionism...
Category

1920s Expressionist Art

Materials

Woodcut

Autumn Equinox, Oil Painting
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
A tranquil landscape welcomes the beginning of autumn. A cloudy sky stretches over the vast field and the ocean, adorned with scattered trees and a puddle. Th...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil

(after) Frans Masereel "Le Calvaire"
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: collotype (after the woodcut). Printed in 1925 and published in Paris by Albert Morance for "L'Art d'Aujourd'hui", and now very scarce. Image size: 8 x 4 3/4 inches (205 x 11...
Category

1920s Expressionist Art

Materials

Photogravure

Autumn inspiration
Located in Zofingen, AG
In this painting, I sought to capture the ephemeral beauty of autumn by the lakeside. Using expressionistic brush strokes and an impressionistic palette, I've emulated the fleeting, ...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

VIOLINIST
Located in Zofingen, AG
In crafting this piece, I poured my heart into every brushstroke, blending acrylics and oils to give life to a charming creature immersed in music. I've intertwined naive artistry wi...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

My Love
Located in Zofingen, AG
In this vibrant fusion of acrylic and oil, I've poured my heart into capturing the tenderness of companionship. Through the naive and pop art styles, I've created an intimate embrace...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

BLUE BLUE
Located in Zofingen, AG
In my vibrant creation, I've blended the whimsy of naive art with the boldness of pop art. With strokes of acrylic and oil, I crafted an inviting feline figure, its piercing blue eye...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

True Friend 2 - 21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative Portrait, Women Love Men
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, Acrylic

Tranquility
Located in Ibadan, Oyo
Shipping Procedure FREE Shipping Worldwide 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 Authent...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Acrylic

Flowers in a Vase Still Life Floral Expressionist French School in Frame
By Eller (Lucien Roudier)
Located in Pistoia, IT
Bright and sophisticated, this "Flower Vase with Anemones" signed work by French painter expressionist Lucien Roudier known as Eller (1894-1940). Fine Arts export certificate avail...
Category

1920s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

SOUS LES PALMIERS Signed Lithograph, Female Nude, Exotic Landscape, Palm Trees
Located in Union City, NJ
SOUS LES PALMIERS is an original hand drawn limited edition lithograph printed in vivid colors on archival Somerset paper 100% acid free by the Dutch artist known as CORNEILLE(Guilla...
Category

1980s Expressionist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Far in Mind, female nude colorful reclining direct gaze
Located in Brooklyn, NY
An expressionist, colorful and direct oil painting of a nude female figure, strecthing back against an an abstract background. Aesthetically sensuous with active brushstrokes applie...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Portrait of a Man / - Lost in Black -
Located in Berlin, DE
Josef Scharl (1896 Munich - 1954 New York), Portrait of a Man, 1937 (1964), Bronner 43 A. Woodcut on Japanese paper, 44 cm x 30.5 cm (image), 63 cm x 46.5 cm (sheet size), signed “J[...
Category

1930s Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper

Lavender paradise
Located in Zofingen, AG
In this piece, I've poured my love for the ethereal beauty of nature into every stroke. The gentle hues and soft textures evoke serenity, her tranquil expression and the delicate lavender blooms she cradles symbolizing peace and grace. It's a celebration of nature's elegance, aiming to infuse your space with a sense of calm and inspiration. Italian canvas...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

LLuis Ribas Little Mediterranean Coast original landscape painting
Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL
Mediterranean coast- original landscape acrylic painting Ribas (El Masnou, Barcelona, 1949) is a Spanish painter whose large and hyper-realistic paintings reflect, above all, the be...
Category

Early 2000s Expressionist Art

Materials

Acrylic

'The Life-Drawing Class' by M. David
Located in London, GB
'The Life-Drawing Class', oil on board, by French (likely) artist M David (circa 1960s). A swirling, colourfully vivacious artwork that is immediately attractive and captivating. A l...
Category

1960s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil, Board

Jesus Before Pilate, Lithograph by Georges Rouault (After)
Located in Long Island City, NY
Jesus Before Pilate Georges Rouault (After), French (1871–1958) Date: of original: 1932 Lithograph, signed in the plate Image Size: 11.5 x 7.5 inches Size: 14.5 x 12 in. (36.83 x 30....
Category

1930s Expressionist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Snow Receding - Victor Egorov, Russian, Landscape, Snow, Woodland, Season, birch
Located in Knowle Lane, Cranleigh
Receding Snow is an original oil onto canvas by Russian painter Victor Egorov. It depicts the turning of seasons as Egorov details the receding snow from...
Category

Early 2000s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil

Newlands Corner- Victor Egorov, Russian, English Countryside, Landscape, Hills
Located in Knowle Lane, Cranleigh
Newlands Corner is an original oil on canvas which captures 'Newlands Corner', a popular beauty spot in the English countryside that commands some of the best views over the Surrey Hills. Russian painter Victor Egorov...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil

Abstract Landscape Painting entitled Rising Ground by Fauvist British Artist
Located in Preston, GB
Abstract Landscape Painting entitled Rising Ground by Fauvist British Artist, Steve Capper Art measures 16 x 12 inches Frame measures 24 x 20 inches (approx.) Presented in a whi...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Paint, Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic, Board

'Mother Nature', Lyrical Surrealist Abstract Watercolour on Paper.
Located in Cotignac, FR
Mid-century lyrical surrealist abstract watercolour on paper by French artist Jean Clerté, signed and dated bottom right. Presented in mid-century frame. Jean Clerté , born in 1930 in Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe in Vienne, is a French painter, engraver, draftsman, watercolourist and sculptor . This work is a great example of his more humorous and expressive work influenced by Alechinsky from the late 1960s onwards. There is a light playfulness and yet the watercolours are more vivid than his previous palette. Jean Clerté works in series. His sequential narrations testify both to a youthful spontaneity and to a perfect mastery in the distribution of forms and images on the painted surface. The narration is not only an accumulation of juxtaposed fragments and symbols, it forms a whole, it takes on and gives meaning. In general, we can say of Clerté that he practices an “eco-art” that feeds on primary hungers: the feeling of being united with nature, the vegetable, the mineral, the aquatic. In his colourful canvases, his inks, his boxes, his objects, like a shaman on the path of his dreams, the painter Clerté mounts an assault on beasts and demons, elves and gnomes. From the Poitevin marshes to the tropical forests emerges a fauna caught in the meanders of a design that marvels at the appearance of these grotesque idols. Jean Clerté began to draw and paint at a very young age, and at the age of 15 he enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts in Poitiers. Then in 1949, curious about the capital, he moved to Paris. Having very few financial resources, he could not continue his studies at first, worked as a model to survive, and met other artists; he was then admitted to the studio of Ossip Zadkine and, from 1952, he was also able to study engraving at Atelier 17 of Stanley William Hayter, an English engraver and printer living in Paris associated in the 1930s with surrealism. At the end of the 1960s, he worked alongside Pierre Alechinsky, founding member of the Cobra movement, engraving Alechinsky's originals, benefiting from his advice, and discovering acrylic as a medium. From 1976, Jean Clerté became associate professor at Hayter. Clerté had taught previously, in 1971 at the Salzburg Summer University and in 1972 he gave courses at the Paris-Sorbonne University . In 1981, he was appointed professor at the School of Decorative Arts , where he had Maïlys Seydoux-Dumas as a student and, from 1983 to 1988, he was Alechinsky's assistant professor at the Paris School of Fine Arts. His first works are part of the current of lyrical abstraction, and are nourished by impressions of nature (landscape motifs, e.g. forest fires, waterscapes), then around 1968, encouraged by Alechinsky, he rejects abstraction, and his work becomes more figurative with expressive and humorous elements. From this period his colours are more subdued, often with pastel tones, he works on series. Jean Clerté has created a world in a space where drawing, painting, objects participate in a playful figuration. From his drawings were born sculptures and sometimes mobiles (Le Moulin à dessin). If it is the artist who makes astonishing, polychrome, whimsical “toys”, it is the painter who appeals to adults through his caustic and satirical humour. His first exhibitions in France took place at the Galerie Massol , then at the Galerie Pascal...
Category

Mid-20th Century Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Bouquet with roses
Located in Zofingen, AG
In this oil painting, I've captured the essence of beauty and vitality with each stroke, embracing the vintage charm of impressionism and the emotional intensity of expressionism. Th...
Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Nu, mains dans ses cheveux (Nude, Hands in Her Hair)
Located in Chicago, IL
Signed and dated, upper right Provenance: Atelier of the artist
Category

1950s Expressionist Art

Materials

Paper, Ink

Dreaming in Color, Expressionist Reclining Female Figure
Located in Soquel, CA
A vivid, multicolored expressionist depiction of a gracefully reclining female figure by Bay Area artist Rick Rodrigues (American, 20th Century). Signed with the artist's symbol lowe...
Category

1980s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

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.

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