Expressionism

Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas.[1][2] Expressionist artists have sought to express the meaning[3] of emotional experience rather than physical reality.[3][4]

Quick facts: Years active, Country, Major figures, Influen... ▼

Expressionism

Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1893, oil, tempera and pastel on cardboard, 91 x 73 cm, National Gallery of Norway, inspired 20th-century Expressionists.
Years active	The years before WWI and the interwar years
Country	Predominantly Germany
Major figures	Artists loosely categorized within such groups as Die Brücke, Der Blaue Reiter; the Berlin Secession and the Dresden Secession
Influenced	American Figurative Expressionism, generally, and Boston Expressionism, in particular

Expressionism developed as an avant-garde style before the First World War. It remained popular during the Weimar Republic,[1] particularly in Berlin. The style extended to a wide range of the arts, including expressionist architecture, painting, literature, theatre, dance, film and music.[5]

The term is sometimes suggestive of angst. In a historical sense, much older painters such as Matthias Grünewald and El Greco are sometimes termed expressionist, though the term is applied mainly to 20th-century works. The Expressionist emphasis on individual and subjective perspective has been characterized as a reaction to positivism and other artistic styles such as Naturalism and Impressionism.[6]