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Expressionism in Europe
1905 - 1925
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In the last years before the turn of the 20th Century,
within and often closely associated with the Impressionist
and Post-Impressionist movements, other experiments
were taking place in France, Holland, Germany, and
Austria.
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The Driving Forces
Where impressionists demanded the freedom to paint
their impressions of a subject, and post-impressionists
experimented with theories of color and form to
inject meaning into their impressions, the expressionists
were applying all of the new techniques and theories
to create painting that portrayed raw and personal
emotion. The new century brought with it a culturally
turbulent period in history and many artists sought
to depict their emotions and responses to what was
happening around them.
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The term "expressionism' was first used during a
Fauves and Cubists exhibition in Berlin in 1911,
but came to be used to explain earlier works by
post impressionists such as Vincent van Gogh, and
Paul Gauguin painted late in their careers, and
even applied to Francisco de Goya y Lucientes who
painted earlier in the 19th Century.
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Techniques and Materials
Violent colors, exaggerated lines, and heavy layers
of paint characterize many of the expressionistic
works of the late 1800s. One of the most famous
examples is The Starry Night (1889) by Dutch
painter Vincent van Gogh, painted towards the end
of his short life. Belgian painter James Ensor's,
Christ's Entry Into Brussels in 1889 (1888),
and Norwegian painter and printmaker Edvard Munch's
, The Scream (1893), are more good examples.
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The Expressionist movement took inspiration from
Symbolism, Fauvism, and Cubism in its departure
from accurate depiction of subject matter but found
its expression in various schools throughout Europe.
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The Artist as Explorer of Human Emotions
Around 1910 the expressionist approach pioneered
by van Gogh, Ensor, and Munch was developed further
by three groups: the Fauves in France, and Die Brucke
(The Bridge), and Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider)
in Germany.
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The Die Brucke group favored distorted lines, enhanced
forms, vibrant color, and flattened perspective
and was typically violent and emotional in its imagery.
Der Blaue Reiter took its lead from Kandinsky's,
Le Cavalier Bleu (1911), and lasted only
from 1911-1913.
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A lasting achievement of both movements was their
revival of graphic arts, in particular, woodcuts
using bold and simplified forms, etchings and engravings.
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Another characteristic of expressionism was an appreciation
of folk art and use of non-European so-called 'primative'
art forms to capture spontaneity of feelings and
emotions. Spiritual elements were explored in the
works of Georges Rouault, Wassily Kandinsky, and
Emil Nolde.
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Viennese Expressionism began with the Vienna Secession
led by Gustav Klimt, The Kiss Yellow (1909),
and later gained significance between years 1905
and 1918. Between 1905-1918 Vienese expressionist
painters Oskar Kokoschka and Egon Schiele were also
gaining recognition with painting of intense emotions
and feelings.
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With the upheaval caused by World War II across
Europe, many artistic associations were broken and
artistic movements became more dispersed and individualized.
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