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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
Benavente Solis  Vertical. Big. green. Bull- original expressionist acrylic
Benavente Solis  Vertical. Big. green. Bull- original expressionist acrylic

Benavente Solis Vertical. Big. green. Bull- original expressionist acrylic

By Benavente Solis

Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL

Bull- original expressionist acrylic painting During its first exhibition in Paris, the French press catalogs it like "The Catalan Sorolla". Honorary Member of the MECOART (Mediter...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Wood, Acrylic

STUNNING 1970'S FRENCH EXPRESSIONIST SIGNED OIL - GIANT BUTTERFLY/ MOTH PAINTING
STUNNING 1970'S FRENCH EXPRESSIONIST SIGNED OIL - GIANT BUTTERFLY/ MOTH PAINTING

STUNNING 1970'S FRENCH EXPRESSIONIST SIGNED OIL - GIANT BUTTERFLY/ MOTH PAINTING

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Artist/ School: French School, indistinctly signed lower right, circa 1970's Title: Giant Butterfly/ Moth Medium: oil painting, on board. Size: frame: 24.25 x 29.25 inches...

Category

Mid-20th Century Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil

Little Explorer's Vision -21st Century, Expressionist, Figurative Modern Balloon
Little Explorer's Vision -21st Century, Expressionist, Figurative Modern Balloon

Little Explorer's Vision -21st Century, Expressionist, Figurative Modern Balloon

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 Gal...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Whispers From The Sky -21st Century, Expressionist, Figurative Modern, Balloon
Whispers From The Sky -21st Century, Expressionist, Figurative Modern, Balloon

Whispers From The Sky -21st Century, Expressionist, Figurative Modern, Balloon

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 Gal...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Morning light on snowy peaks
Morning light on snowy peaks

Morning light on snowy peaks

Located in Zofingen, AG

"In this painting, I've captured the serene beauty of dawn as it kisses the snowy peaks with warm hues of pink and purple, contrasting the cool blues and whites of the snow. It's a d...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Watermelon
Watermelon

Watermelon

Located in Zofingen, AG

In my creation, I've channeled the vibrant essence of summer into each stroke, capturing the juicy allure of watermelon slices against an evocative backdrop. With oil I've intertwine...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Whale Painting Ocean Underwater Original Oil Painting
Whale Painting Ocean Underwater Original Oil Painting

Whale Painting Ocean Underwater Original Oil Painting

Located in Zofingen, AG

Oil Painting of Whale - Impasto Palette Knife Artwork on Canvas Dive into the mesmerizing beauty of the ocean with this stunning oil painting of a whale, created using the impasto t...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Rain in the city
Rain in the city

Rain in the city

Located in Zofingen, AG

In my creation, I aimed to capture the vibrancy and mood of urban life washed by rain. The chaotic beauty, the muffled sounds, the shimmering lights reflecting on wet surfaces—all th...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Untitled Couple Mid Century Jewish Expressionist OIl Painting
Untitled Couple Mid Century Jewish Expressionist OIl Painting

Untitled Couple Mid Century Jewish Expressionist OIl Painting

By Belle Golinko

Located in Surfside, FL

Abstracted painting of a man and a woman, the paint has been applied to textured plastic. An abstracted painting of a couple applying paint to the textured plastic surface. Genre Expressionist Fauvist Subject People Medium Acrylic Plastic Surface Board Country United States Dimensions 24" x 11 1/2" She exhibited her painting at the famous Jewish art show held at the Dallas Museum Contemporary Fine Arts Exhibition of the American Jewish Tercentenary in 1955 alogside artists Aarons, George, Benn, Ben, Berkman, Aaron, Bloom, Hyman Bohrod, Aaron Gottlieb, Adolph, Gropper, William, Gross, Chaim Gurr, Lena amongst others. Born in 1899, Belle Golinko is a listed Jewish mid...

Category

1950s Expressionist Art

Materials

Plastic, Oil

R. Poch   Women  Couch original acrylic painting
R. Poch   Women  Couch original acrylic painting

R. Poch Women Couch original acrylic painting

By Ramon Poch

Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL

8.-Maria de las Mercedes 115 x90 cm acrylic painting Born in Badalona (Barcelona). Photographer and advertising film director. Founding partner of the advertising production compan...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Acrylic

Rebirth 2 -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative People, Expressionism, Women
Rebirth 2 -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative People, Expressionism, Women

Rebirth 2 -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative People, Expressionism, Women

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 Emma...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Coffee, Mixed Media

Tides of  Change 2 -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative People, Expressionism
Tides of  Change 2 -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative People, Expressionism

Tides of Change 2 -21st Century, Contemporary, Figurative People, Expressionism

Located in Ibadan, Oyo

Tides of Change captures the constant ebb and flow of human experience, where moments of uncertainty give rise to transformation. Like the sea, life moves in rhythms of loss and rene...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Coffee, Mixed Media

Mountain Top, Welsh Landscape Painting, Contemporary Textured Landscape Painting
Mountain Top, Welsh Landscape Painting, Contemporary Textured Landscape Painting

Mountain Top, Welsh Landscape Painting, Contemporary Textured Landscape Painting

By Helen Howells

Located in Deddington, GB

Mountain Top is an original landscape painting by Helen Howells. It was inspired by the mountain views of South Wales, where I truly feel at peace, amongst the astounding beauty of t...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Chamomile
Chamomile

Chamomile

Located in Zofingen, AG

In crafting this oil painting, I sought to convey the serene yet fleeting beauty of nature. Through expressionistic strokes melded with impressionistic hues, I captured chamomiles da...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Marc Chagall, The Pantheon, from Derriere le miroir, 1954
Marc Chagall, The Pantheon, from Derriere le miroir, 1954

Marc Chagall, The Pantheon, from Derriere le miroir, 1954

By Marc Chagall

Located in Southampton, NY

This exquisite lithograph by Marc Chagall (1887–1985), titled Le Pantheon (The Pantheon), from the folio Derriere le miroir, No. 67–68, originates from the 1954 edition published by ...

Category

1950s Expressionist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Expresionist Nephiline-Manganese Glazed Ceramic Head. High-Temperature Clay Bust
Expresionist Nephiline-Manganese Glazed Ceramic Head. High-Temperature Clay Bust

Expresionist Nephiline-Manganese Glazed Ceramic Head. High-Temperature Clay Bust

By Óscar Aldonza Torres

Located in FISTERRA, ES

Nephiline and manganese glazed Buño clay head sculpture channels organic textures and existential introspection in Aldonza’s evocative “Testas” series. Nephiline-Manganese Glazed Cer...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Clay, Glaze

20th Paris School Collage Cutout Artwork Wonderful Interior Design options!
20th Paris School Collage Cutout Artwork Wonderful Interior Design options!

20th Paris School Collage Cutout Artwork Wonderful Interior Design options!

By Bernard Herzog

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

"Collage" by Bernard Herzog (French, b.1935) signed lower corner signed and stamped verso with catalogue number photo collage cut outs on paper, unframed overall paper: 25.5 x 20 in...

Category

Mid-20th Century Expressionist Art

Materials

Photographic Film, Magazine Paper

The Conscience of the Court, Bookmarks in the Pages of Life
The Conscience of the Court, Bookmarks in the Pages of Life

The Conscience of the Court, Bookmarks in the Pages of Life

By Betye Saar

Located in Southampton, NY

Silkscreen in colors and sepia-tones on Langdell fait à la main paper. Paper Size: 15 x 11 inches. Inscription: Unsigned and unnumbered, as issued. Notes: From the folio, Bookmarks i...

Category

Early 2000s Expressionist Art

Materials

Screen

"Le Bal Masque" Giuseppe Verdi Opera (Variant)
"Le Bal Masque" Giuseppe Verdi Opera (Variant)

"Le Bal Masque" Giuseppe Verdi Opera (Variant)

By Oskar Kokoschka

Located in San Francisco, CA

This artwork titled "Le Bal Masque" Giuseppe Verdi Opera, (Variant) 1967 is an original color lithograph on Japan paper by renown Austrian expressionist artist Oskar Kokoschka, 1886-...

Category

Mid-20th Century Expressionist Art

Materials

Lithograph

Winter roses 40X30
Winter roses 40X30

Winter roses 40X30

Located in Zofingen, AG

Crafted with love, my artwork breathes life into the delicate dance of roses against a tranquil backdrop. It's an expressionist journey capturing the subtle interplay of light and sh...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Yellow Donkey (Der Gelbe Esel) (Esther Gentle Reproduction)

The Yellow Donkey (Der Gelbe Esel) (Esther Gentle Reproduction)

By Paul Klee

Located in Kansas City, MO

Paul Klee (after) The Yellow Donkey (Der Gelbe Esel) Year: 1939 Lithograph Size: 14.125x19.6 on 20.6x26 inches Esther Gentle, Reproduction, 1952 Edition: 300 Inscribed in pencil stam...

Category

1930s Expressionist Art

Materials

Lithograph

The harlequin and the rooster - Oil on wood 35x49 cm
The harlequin and the rooster - Oil on wood 35x49 cm

The harlequin and the rooster - Oil on wood 35x49 cm

Located in Geneva, CH

Work on wood New wooden frame with golden patina 58,5 x 45 x 3,5 cm Illegible signature

Category

1950s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil

'Shack on the Bayou, ' by James Cobb, Oil on Masonite Painting
'Shack on the Bayou, ' by James Cobb, Oil on Masonite Painting

'Shack on the Bayou, ' by James Cobb, Oil on Masonite Painting

Located in Oklahoma City, OK

This oil on masonite painting by James Cobb features a stand-alone home on the edge of a waterway. The house's reflection melts into the water where the colors of blue, gray, and pur...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Rittersporn und Fingerhut  (Larkspur and Foxglove)
Rittersporn und Fingerhut  (Larkspur and Foxglove)

Rittersporn und Fingerhut (Larkspur and Foxglove)

Located in Fairlawn, OH

Rittersporn und Fingerhut (Larkspur and Foxglove) Color woodcut, printed on wove paper with mica flecks, 1916 Signed lower right (see photo) Inscribed lower left (see photo) Reference: Merx 276 Condition: good-very good One spot of staining on the far left edge of the composition (see photo) Color very fresh and vibrant Full sheet as issued Image size: 19 x 13 3/8 inches Carl Thiemann...

Category

1910s Expressionist Art

Materials

Woodcut

Tableau n°67 by Jean Krillé - Oil on wood 62x47 cm
Tableau n°67 by Jean Krillé - Oil on wood 62x47 cm

Tableau n°67 by Jean Krillé - Oil on wood 62x47 cm

By Jean Krille

Located in Geneva, CH

Of Germanic descent, the painter Jean Krillé was born in 1923 in Switzerland. His father, writer and poet, oriented him towards art and culture. From the age of 16, he enrolled at th...

Category

1970s Expressionist Art

Materials

Oil

Marc Chagall, Pliouchkine Searching for His Papers, from Dead Souls, 1923–1927
Marc Chagall, Pliouchkine Searching for His Papers, from Dead Souls, 1923–1927

Marc Chagall, Pliouchkine Searching for His Papers, from Dead Souls, 1923–1927

By Marc Chagall

Located in Southampton, NY

This exquisite etching by Marc Chagall (1887–1985), titled Pliouchkine a la recherche de ses papiers (Pliouchkine Searching for His Papers), originates from the celebrated folio Nico...

Category

1920s Expressionist Art

Materials

Etching

Autumn inspiration
Autumn inspiration

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

English Girls Are Mean

English Girls Are Mean

By Todd White

Located in Toronto, ON

24" x 19" Unframed Limited Edition Face Mounted Acrylic Giclee on Canvas with Hand Embellishment of 45 Hand Signed by Todd White Todd white captures restaurant, night and Hollywood...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Giclée

Carpet of Bluebells, Rachael Dalzell, Acrylic on Canvas with Tray Frame
Carpet of Bluebells, Rachael Dalzell, Acrylic on Canvas with Tray Frame

Carpet of Bluebells, Rachael Dalzell, Acrylic on Canvas with Tray Frame

By Rachael Dalzell

Located in Coltishall, GB

The colours of spring as bluebells carpet the woods at Blickling Rachael’s paintings are large, colourful and expressive. Her free and lively use of paint through various technique...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Autumn mood
Autumn mood

Autumn mood

Located in Zofingen, AG

In this textured oil painting, I've captured the fiery essence of autumn in a melody of reds and oranges. Using strokes brimming with passion, the merge of realism and impressionism ...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Fiery Leaves of the Forest. By Rachael Dalzell acrylic on canvas, tray frame
The Fiery Leaves of the Forest. By Rachael Dalzell acrylic on canvas, tray frame

The Fiery Leaves of the Forest. By Rachael Dalzell acrylic on canvas, tray frame

By Rachael Dalzell

Located in Coltishall, GB

A large scale artwork filled with the colours of autumn and painted with a free and expressive use of acrylic paint. Rachael’s paintings are large, colourful and expressive. Her fr...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

A Village river
A Village river

Elena LukinaA Village river, 2021

$451Sale Price|20% Off

A Village river

Located in Zofingen, AG

In this piece, I've merged the vibrant fluidity of impressionism with the vivid reality of fine art. I wanted the tranquility of the village river to envelop the viewer, the expressi...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

R. Poch  Purple Ladies  Lilac  acrylic painting
R. Poch  Purple Ladies  Lilac  acrylic painting

R. Poch Purple Ladies Lilac acrylic painting

By Ramon Poch

Located in CORAL GABLES - MIAMI, FL

6.-Purple ladies 130 x 100 cm acrylic painting Born in Badalona (Barcelona). Photographer and advertising film director. Founding partner of the advertising production company La C...

Category

2010s Expressionist Art

Materials

Acrylic

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.