Expressionism

表現主義 / 1905–1930s / Style / Avant-garde

Painting what was felt rather than what was seen. Warped forms, violent brushwork and unnatural color moved the anxiety of the city and the age straight onto the surface.

Expressionism — Kirchner, Berlin Street Scene, 1913 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain — Kirchner, Berlin Street Scene, 1913 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

Expressionism — Munch, The Scream, 1893 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain — Munch, The Scream, 1893 — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

Expressionism — Kirchner, poster for a Brücke exhibition — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain — Kirchner, poster for a Brücke exhibition — Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

At a glance

Visual cues

Distorted form
Unnatural color
Rough brush and cut
Urban anxiety

Best used for

Hitting an emotion directly, giving up accurate description to do it
Protest work printed from rough woodcuts in unnatural color

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Dictionary entry

Type: Cut the letters by hand and keep the tremor and unevenness
Composition: Drop perspective, press figures against the edge, leave unstable gaps
Material: Set complements side by side, keep the cut marks and paint body
Caution: Distortion applied evenly as an effect erases what the feeling is about, and the picture looks like realism with a filter over it.
Further study: Die Brücke and Der Blaue Reiter / the woodcut revival / the 'Degenerate Art' persecution

Related entries

German Expressionist Film (ドイツ表現主義映画)Shared effects: Rebellion.Compare Expressionism and German Expressionist Film
Woodcut (木版画)Shared effects: Rebellion / Exhilaration.Compare Expressionism and Woodcut

Often confused with

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