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.
1960s Expressionist Art
Lithograph
1960s Expressionist Art
Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art
Canvas, Acrylic
1970s Expressionist Art
Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art
Wood, Acrylic
Early 2000s Expressionist Art
Screen
2010s Expressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
1910s Expressionist Art
Woodcut
1920s Expressionist Art
Pencil
2010s Expressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
1960s Expressionist Art
Oil
1970s Expressionist Art
Paper, Etching
2010s Expressionist Art
Canvas, Lacquer, Oil
1980s Expressionist Art
Canvas, Acrylic, Stretcher Bars
Early 2000s Expressionist Art
Etching
1920s Expressionist Art
Lithograph, Offset
1950s Expressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
1920s Expressionist Art
Lithograph, Offset
Artist Comments
Artist Robert Hofherr rendered a colorful view of autumn wood in a Fauvist lens. With simplified details, the interplay of line, color, and texture creates vi...
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art
Acrylic
Artist Comments
A woman sits, her hand cupping her face. Artist Sharon Sieban notes that sometimes people are not ready to answer the call, but coffee helps. Gestural strokes...
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art
Mixed Media
Early 2000s Expressionist Art
Ceramic
Mid-20th Century Expressionist Art
Lithograph
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art
Watercolor
2010s Expressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Expressionist Art
Cotton Canvas, Acrylic
2010s Expressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Expressionist Art
Acrylic
2010s Expressionist Art
Canvas, Oil, Cardboard
2010s Expressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Expressionist Art
Linen, Oil
Early 2000s Expressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
Mid-20th Century Expressionist Art
Oil, Board
2010s Expressionist Art
Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art
Canvas, Charcoal, Acrylic
2010s Expressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Expressionist Art
Acrylic
2010s Expressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art
Paper, Charcoal
2010s Expressionist Art
Canvas, Acrylic, Stretcher Bars
Artist Comments
The artwork depicts an expressionist city landscape at night, emphasizing emotions and subjective experience over realism. A woman's figure lies among the sta...
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art
Acrylic
1980s Expressionist Art
Lithograph
1950s Expressionist Art
Lithograph
Late 20th Century Expressionist Art
Oil Pastel, Gouache
1980s Expressionist Art
Lithograph
2010s Expressionist Art
Fabric, Wool
Mid-20th Century Expressionist Art
Lithograph
1990s Expressionist Art
Wood, Acrylic
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
1960s Expressionist Art
Lithograph
Artist Comments
Embossed papers and layers of acrylic paint create a textured landscape. Artist Brit J Oie notes that the last colors of fall linger before winter sets in. Hi...
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art
Mixed Media
2010s Expressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Expressionist Art
Canvas, Cotton Canvas, Oil
1910s Expressionist Art
Drypoint
1960s Expressionist Art
Lithograph
2010s Expressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
2010s Expressionist Art
Oil
Artist Comments
Artist James Hartman began this painting by creating texture with homemade tools. He envisioned standing at the edge of the woods, looking through to an indistinct light. The oil colors were allowed to drip and settle into the textured surface, enhancing depth and movement, while his tools helped define the landscape in a way that captures shifting light.
About the Artist
When James Hartman was in art school, he became fascinated with the Society of Six, a group of artists who painted en plein air (outdoors) and exhibited together in the San Francisco Bay Area during the early 20th Century. James's paintings of the Northern California landscape pay tribute to some of the great Bay Area artists of the past. His expressive scenes feel alive through his vibrant use of color and his painterly brushwork. James’s paintings have an immediate visual impact from a distance, yet up close, dissolve into a series of confident marks and strokes. There is a simultaneous complexity and steadiness in his flattened, color-blocked planes. Knowledge and observation are essential elements of James’s working practice. To this end, he spends a large proportion of his time painting on location. His body of work captures the fresh and sunlit essence of the coastal California hills.
Words that describe this painting: trees, texture, bright, woods, sunlight, panoramic, forest...
21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art
Oil
20th Century Expressionist Art
Woodcut
1990s Expressionist Art
Canvas, Oil
1950s Expressionist Art
Lithograph