Expressionism in art Essay Example
Expressionism in art Essay Example

Expressionism in art Essay Example

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  • Pages: 3 (790 words)
  • Published: May 22, 2017
  • Type: Essay
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Expressionism is a term that embraces an early 20th century style of art, music and literature that is charged with an emotional and spiritual vision of the world. * The expressionism movement emerged across various cities in Germany. * Expressionism was basically about expressing emotions through colours and exaggerated pictures.

* The movement came about in response to human’s increasingly conflicting relationship with the world. * Painting emotions was not something new in art But it was the first time in the early 20th century that such art was given a name. BEGINNINGS * The term “expressionism” is known to have been created by an art historian – Antonin Matejcek. * Antonin’s intention was to indicate the opposite of impressionism. * Impressionism was to do with nature and human form whereas expressionism was basically all about express

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ing inner life often through exaggerated images and harsh colours.

* With the turn of the century in Europe, major changes to the atmosphere of the society occurred. As a result, changes in artistic styles also took place * New technologies and major urbanization efforts changed the way humans looked at the world. * Artists reflected the emotional impact of these developments by moving away from a realistic representation of what they saw toward an emotional and mental version of how the world affected them. KEY IDEAS & CHARACTERISTICS * Expressionism art is usually depicted by swirling, swaying and exaggerated brush strokes on the subject.

* These techniques were meant to convey the dull emotional state of the artist reacting to the anxieties of the modern world.Through their clash with the modern world of the early twentieth century wit

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all the new technologies and the like, Expressionist artists developed a powerful style of social criticism in their indirect figural representations and bold colours. * Their representations of the modern city included lonely individuals as well as prostitutes and depressed people everywhere. * The aim was to show how modern technologies and the new way of living had impacted individuals in the society. Expressionism expressed their inner feelings.

they highlighted the separation to modern society and the loss of spiritual closeness between individuals in urban culture. fellow city residents are distanced from one another. * The arrival of Expressionism announced new standards in the creation and judgment of art. Art was now meant to come from within the artist, rather than from a picture of the external world.

* the standard for judging the quality of a work of art became the character of the artist's feelings rather than an examination of the object. EVOLVED OVERTIME * the years of expressionism saw 3 different groups emerge. “Die Brucke” (the bridge) 1905-13 * “Der Blaue Reiter (1911-14) (Blue Rider)” * “Die Neue Sachlichkeit (1920s) (New Objectivity) * “die Brucke” (the bridge), was one of the most organized expressionist group. Based in Dresden, this group combined traditional German art with African, Post-Impressionist and Fauvist styles. Important members included: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner , Karl Schmidt-Rottluff,  Erich Heckel,  Emil Nolde , Otto Mueller , and Max Pechstein . * Der Blaue Reiter  (Blue Rider), was based in Munich, it was named after a Kandinsky painting from the cover of their 1912 Manifesto.

The group included a number of modern artists, such as Alexei von Jawlensky , Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Franz Marc and August Macke. * Die Neue Sachlichkeit  (New Objectivity), was

centred on Berlin, this group explored a new form of realism with a socialist flavour. Vividly mocking in its representation of corruption in wartime and postwar in Germany, its leading members included: George Grosz, Otto Dix, Max Beckmann and Christian Schad. * Expressionism was always there and will always be there in every artwork. The movement itself was not something new, it was already there but was highlighted in the early 19th century.FAMOUS EXPRESSIONIST ARTISTS * * James * Oskar Kokoschka * August Macke * Franz Marc * Edvard Munch * Egon Schiele * Edward Munch * Edvard Munch, 1863-1944, Norway, is looked upon as one of the most significant influences on the development of German and Central European expressionism.

Munch's shaken and twisting art was formed by the misery and conflicts of his time, and, even more important, by his own unhappy life. This was reflected in his works, particularly in paintings like The Sick Child, The Scream, and Vampire. Munch's artworks show his social awareness and his tendency to express all his troubles and fears. Egon Schiele * Egon Schele (1890-1918) played an important role in creating the character of early nineenth-century Expressionism, characterized by the use of irregular lines and strokes and exaggerated images.

He produced more than 3000 drawings in his short life. * So basically, Expressionsm is an artistic style in which the artist seeks to depict not objective reality but rather the subjective emotions and responses that objects and events arouse within a person through distortion, exaggeration and through vivid, jarring and violent images and colours.

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