History of Expressionism

As a movement, the term expressionism usually denotes the late-19th century, early-20th century
schools of emotive or interpretive art, which emerged in Germany as a reaction to the more
passive style of Impressionism. The word expressionism was first used in 1850, mostly to
describe the paintings where an artist’s strong emotions were clearly depicted. The popularity of
Expressionism increased when Antonin Matějček in 1910 coined the term. With this word
the Czech art historian intended to denote the opposite of Impressionism and indicate one of the
main currents of art that expresses highly subjective, personal, spontaneous self-expression
typical of a wide range of modern artists. Whereas the Impressionists sought to express the
majesty of nature and the human form through paint, the Expressionists, according to Matějček,
sought to express their feelings about what they saw.

What is Expressionism?

Expressionism is a modernist movement that emerged in early 20th-century Germany. Artists

working in this style distort the reality of their subjects in order to “express” their own emotions,
feelings, and ideas.

With an aesthetic and approach heavily inspired by the paintings of Vincent van Gogh and
Edvard Munch—two artists viewed as predominant precursors of the movement—Expressionists
employed artificial color palettes, energetic brushstrokes, and exaggerated textures in their
works. Together, these characteristics culminate in avant-garde paintings that favor the
subjective over the true-to-life in order to reveal a glimpse into the psyche of artists.

The artist accomplishes this aim through distortion, exaggeration, primitivism, and fantasy and
through the vivid, jarring, violent, or dynamic application of formal elements.

Who is the father of Expressionism?

Edvard Munch is best known as being a Norwegian born, expressionist painter, and printer. In
the late 20th century, he played a great role in German expressionism, and the art form that later
followed; namely because of the strong mental anguish that was displayed in many of the pieces
that he created.

Edvard Munch was born in Norway in 1863, and was raised in Christiania (known as Oslo
today). He was related to famous painters and artists in their own right, Jacob Munch (painter),
and Peter Munch (historian). Only a few years after he was born, Edvard Munch's mother died of
tuberculosis in 1868, and he was raised by his father. Edvard's father suffered of mental illness,
and this played a role in the way he and his siblings were raised. Their father raised them with
the fears of deep seated issues, which is part of the reason why the work of Edvard Munch took a
deeper tone, and why the artist was known to have so many repressed emotions as he grew up.

Nature is not only all that is visible to the eye... it also includes the inner pictures of the soul.”-
Edvard Munch

A majority of the works which Edvard Munch created, were referred to as the style known as
symbolism. This is mainly because of the fact that the the paintings he made focused on the
internal view of the objects, as opposed to the exterior, and what the eye could see. Symbolist
painters believed that art should reflect an emotion or idea rather than represent the natural world
in the objective, quasi-scientific manner embodied by Realism and Impressionism. In painting,
Symbolism represents a synthesis of form and feeling, of reality and the artist's inner
subjectivity.

Many of Munch's works depict life and death scenes, love and terror, and the feeling of
loneliness was often a feeling which viewers would note that his work patterns focused on. These
emotions were depicted by the contrasting lines, the darker colors, blocks of color, somber tones,
and a concise and exaggerated form, which depicted the darker side of the art which he was
designing. Munch is often and rightly compared with Van Gogh, who was one of the first artists
to paint what the French artist called "the mysterious centers of the mind." But perhaps a more
overreaching influence was Sigmund Freud, a very close contemporary. Freud explained much
human behavior by relating it to childhood experiences. Munch saw his mother die of
tuberculosis when he was 5, and his sister Sophie die of the same disease when he was 14.
Munch gives the By the Death Bed and Death in the Sickroom a universal cast by not
specifically depicting what he had witnessed. Several versions of The Sick Child are surely his
sister.

I will paint living people who breathe and feel and suffer and love. ”- Edvard Munch

Due to the fact that all of this work which Edvard Munch had created, was donated to the
Norwegian government, the country decided to build the Munch Museum of Art. This was done
to commemorate his work, his life, and the generosity which he showed, in passing his art work
over to the government, so that it could be enjoyed by the general public, rather than be kept
locked up by the family. Although the art which he did donate, was spread throughout a number
of museums and art exhibits, a majority of them were kept in Oslo. And, most of the works
which were donated by Munch, were placed in the Munch Museum of Art, to commemorate the
work he did, as well as the unique style, and the distinct movements which he introduced to the
world, through the creations which he had crafted.

Famous Painters and Paintings in Expressionism

Artist Artworks /Paintings Definition
Vincent van Gogh Sorrow (1882) Sorrow is a poignant work, simple in
execution but representative of the
exhaustion of the working poor. Across
the bottom of the drawing is inscribed a
quote from the social historian Jules
Michelet, reading Comment se fait-il
qu'il y ait sur la terre une femme seule,
délaissée? — "How can there be on
earth a woman alone, abandoned?"

Van Gogh considered Sorrow to be one

of his most effective portraits, about the
work he said, “I want to make drawings
that touch some people. Sorrow is a
small beginning ... there is at least
something directly from my own heart.”

Sorrow is a Post-Impressionist,
Chalk Drawing created by Vincent Van
Gogh in 1882. It lives at the The New
Art Gallery Walsall in England. The
image is in the Public Domain, and
tagged The Nude in Art and Women.
Wassily Influenced by the flowing biomorphic
Kandinsky Composition X (1939) forms of Surrealism, Kandinsky later
incorporated organic shapes back into
his pictorial vocabulary. Executed in
France, this monumental painting relies
upon a black background to heighten the
visual impact of the brightly colored
undulating forms in the foreground. The
presence of the black expanse is
significant, as Kandinsky only used the
color sparingly; it is evocative of the
cosmos as well as the darkness at the
end of life. The undulating planes of
color call to mind microscopic
organisms, but also express the inner
emotional and spiritual feelings
 Kandinsky experienced near the end of
his life. The uplifting organization of
forms in contrast with the harsh edges
and black background illustrates the
harmony and tension present throughout
the universe, as well as the rise and fall
of the cycle of life. Last in his lifelong
series of Compositions, this work is the
culmination of Kandinsky's investigation
into the purity of form and expression
through nonrepresentational painting.
Egon Schiele One of Schiele’s strangest works, The
The Blind Mother, 1914 Blind Mother is reflective of his own
troubled relations with his mother.
Motherhood was a theme he returned to
over and over again in Dead Mother,
Young Mother, and Blind Mother II.
How viewers should read The Blind
Mother is difficult to gauge. She is
unhealthily thin and pale, the red of her
lips stands out and chimes with the
streams of red on the floor. And she
seems to be in a kind of cupboard or
garret with an empty chest behind her.
Does the empty chest suggest her womb,
her holding of the children a wish to
return it to the protection of its prenatal
state? Or is there an accusation within
this painting, a suggestion that the
mother also kills the children, hence
those rivulets of blood? Does she suckle
the children or smother them?
August Macke One of Macke's last paintings was the
Farewell unfinished work that now bears the title
Farewell. "With absolute clarity,"
Vriesen states, "the picture reflects the
gloom and numbness that befell public
life" before the first year of war was out,
"the mood of uncertainty and disquiet
which took possession of Macke as
well."
(http://hoocher.com/August_Macke/Aug
ust_Macke.htm)

A year after The Milliner’s Shop he was

drafted into the German Army. The
artists of the Western World had called
for the destruction of the old world. Sub-
consciously the empires that protected
them agreed. As if by compulsion, they
committed group suicide. The trenches
were dug and August was posted to the
French province of Champagne. A few
weeks later he was dead, killed in action.
Mowed down alongside 200,000
anonymous others. He was 27 years old.

His last work, the gloom of which brings

Kirchner to mind, was called
“Farewell”.
Questions:
1. Is best known as being a Norwegian born, expressionist painter, and printer. In the late
20th century, he played a great role in German expressionism, and the art form that later
followed; namely because of the strong mental anguish that was displayed in many of the
pieces that he created.
2. What is the style of Expressionism?
3. Who is the artist of sorrow?
4. Who is the artist of Composition X?
5. Who is the artist of The Blind Mother?
6. Who is the artist of farewell?
7.10. On your own understanding what is Expressionism?

Answers:
1. Edward Munch
2. Strong Emotion (pain, sadness, disappointment, stress)
3. Vincent van gogh
4. Wassilly Kandinsky
5. Egon schiele
6. August macke
7-10. it portray their feelings and emotions over a particular matter in such a way that their
message such as sadness, pain and what so ever.