There are many movements that make up what we know today as modern art.
And theExpressionists, a group of figures with eclectic artistic tastes, aimed to elicit emotion.
While the Expressionist movement started in Germany, it eventually spread all over the continentand beyond.
Here, we explore this evocative movement and the figures and groups that helped shape it.
What is Expressionism?
Though their approach was radical, they did seek inspiration in art of the past.
Edvard Munch, “The Scream,” 1893 (Photo:Wikimedia CommonsPublic Domain)
In 1913, however, Kirchner publishedChronik der Brucke, or Chronicle of the Brucke.
The figures' artistic objectives varied.
To Der Blaue Reiter members, for example, colors were symbolic, and painting was intuitive.
Exhibition of the german expressionist group “Die Brücke” in the Galerie Ernst Arnold in Dresden in September 1910 (Photo:Wikimedia CommonsPublic Domain)
Expressionism continued to serve as the dominant artistic force in Germany following World War I.
While its popularity faded around 1920, German artists revived it in the 1970s with the creation of Neo-Expressionism.
In addition to inspiring Expressionist offshoots, the movement had a profound influence oncontemporary art.
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Exhibition Poster, 1910 (Photo:Wikimedia CommonsPublic Domain)
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, 1906 (Photo:Wikimedia CommonsPublic Domain)
Franz Marc, “Blue Horse I,” 1911 (Photo:Wikimedia CommonsPublic Domain)
Wassily Kandinsky, “The Blue Rider,” 1903 (Photo:Wikimedia CommonsPublic Domain)
