Expressionism Paintings

Unlike impersonal Minimalism, Expressionism is focused on artist’s feelings about the object depicted on an artwork. Artists tend to sacrifice the accuracy of depicting an object in order to make a maximum impact on viewer and make him or her concentrate on the feelings about an artwork. Main characteristics of Expressionist paintings is deliberate simplicity, bold colours and rough bold outlines.

The message of a picture is of a top importance for Expressionists, and on some examples of artworks can be found Symbolism elements. Artists tend to use impasto technique in applying paints, and brushstrokes often look freely applied.

History and development of Expressionism

Most often at the stage of forming of an art movement or new art style groups of artists work together within one school united with the same idea or point of view and working in the same technique. Expressionism is a general art style that has always existed (beginning from cave art) and will always exist. We only can talk about periods when this art form became more popular than others.

Art historians and critics tend to describe Expressionism as an art movement that raise in the end of 19th century in Germany and Paris as a reaction on Impressionism which was thought to be too passive — because of this it is sometimes mixed with post-Impressionism. While Impressionists described nature with a special attention to light and the way it changes, the way we accept an object, for Expressionists their feelings were the most important.

Expressionist artists

We can consider as the pioneers of Expressionism JMW Turner, Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin and Edvard Munch. Artists who worked in this style can be divided into several groups:

• Fauvist painters focused on colour: Henri Matisse, Kees van Dongen, Albert Marquet and others;
• Bridge group — pre-war artists who worked together in Dresden: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Emil Nolde, Erich Heckel and others;
• Munich Blue Rider group: Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, Paul Klee, August Macke;
• New Objectivity German artists: Otto Dix, Max Beckmann, George Grosz;
• Paris School: Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Amedeo Modigliani;
• Austrian Expressionists: Oskar Kokoschka, Egon Schiele;
• Belgium, East European and Russian Expressionists.

While using or visiting ART.biz — an online Gallery collection — you can find works of modern Expressionists from all over the world. Our goal is to create a place where artists can sell their paintings and buyers and collectors can find examples of fine art works of different styles created with a help of various media.