Expressionism: Art

Art and Music in the 20th and 21st Centuries

Expressionism

Art:

The key ideas behind the expressionist movement in art was that “art was now meant to come forth from within the artist, rather than from a depiction of the external visual world” (Wolf “Expressionism Movement, Artists and Major Works”). This meant that instead of accurate depictions of the real world such as portraits, landscapes, etc; artists were free to paint from what they felt inside of themselves. This style originated in Germany in the early 20th Century and has since expanded to a popular style of art. 

 

Characteristics of expressionism include: 

exaggerated use of colour 

implies emotion eg. red for anger, blue for sadness

distorted shapes/appearances

helps depict inner emotion 

(Puddock “What is Expressionist Art?”)

swirling, swaying, and exaggeratedly executed brushstrokes (Wolf “Expressionism Movement, Artists and Major Works”)

Conveys turgid emotional state of artist

Helps to convey social anxieties?

 

Example: “The Scream” by Edvard Munch (1893) 

(Shabi “Meaning of The Scream”)

 

“I was walking down the road with two friends when the sun set; suddenly, the sky turned as red as blood. I stopped and leaned against the fence, feeling unspeakably tired. Tongues of fire and blood stretched over the bluish black fjord. My friends went on walking, while I lagged behind, shivering with fear. Then I heard the enormous infinite scream of nature.” (Munch,The Private Journals of Edvard Munch: We Are Flames Which Pour Out of the Earth)

 

Bright, exaggerated colours

Reds, oranges, and yellows convey anxiety, anger, and other intense emotions

Black creates a mysterious undertone

Swirling brushstrokes

Hard to tell exactly what is in the background, assumedly an ocean or lake

Simplistic figures

Munch suffered from insanity (presumably bipolar)

gave him visions of the world as he painted it

 

Bibliography

 

“German Expressionism.” MoMA. Museum of Modern Art, n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2014. 

<http://www.moma.org/explore/collection/ge/artists&gt;.

Munch, Edvard, and J. Gill Holland. The Private Journals of Edvard Munch: We Are Flames Which Pour Out of the Earth. Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press, 2005. Print.

Puddock, David . “What is Expressionist Art?.” Garp’s World. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2014. <http://www.garpsworld.com/art/expressionist/expressionist_art.htm&gt;.

Shabi, K. “Meaning of The Scream.” Legomenon. N.p., 12 July 2013. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. <http://legomenon.com/meaning-of-the-scream-1893-painting-by-edvard-munch.html&gt;.

Wolf, Justin. “Expressionism Movement, Artists and Major Works.” TheArtStory.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2014. <http://www.theartstory.org/movement-expressionism.htm&gt;.