Expressionism

=Expressionism=

Expressionism is an art movement which originated in Germany from 1905 to 1930. In a general sense, the term Expressionism in art denotes the use of distortion and exaggeration for emotional effect (Ian, 1999). Expressionism was greatly influenced by Fauvism which arose at the same time. Expressionism was characterized by greater emotional and a more spontaneous approach, while [|Fauvism] was for the most part less openly neurotic and morbid (Janson, 2002).
 * Background**

In painting, Expressionism was depicted through violent colours and exaggerated lines that helped to create intense emotional expressions. The philosophy behind Expressionism was to pinpoint the expression of inner experience rather than solely realistic portrayal, seeking to depict not objective reality but the subjective emotions and responses that objects and events arouse in them (Händler, 1956).
 * Characteristics**

The first group of Expressionists was organized in Dresden in 1905 under the name [|Die Brücke] (The Bridge). Today when we speak of //Die Brücke,// we mean: Kirchner, its spiritual leader; Nolde, who was influenced strongly in its direction but surpassed most of its members in various ways; [|Pechstein], the popularizer of the movement; [|Schmidt-Rottluff], genuinely and powerfully primitivistic in outlook; Mueller, exotic in approach and somewhat decadent in tone; and [|Heckel], more romantic and the least strident of the group (Myers, 1996). Artists such as Oskar Kokoschka and Vassily Kandinsky were the followers of Expressionism movement. Expressionist painters were significantly impacted by the works of [|Van Gough], [|Gauguin] and [|Munch] and their work resembles similar elements.
 * [|Die Brücke]**


 * Ernst Ludwig Kirchner**

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner was the leader and one of the most active members of the [|Die Bücke]. He studied architecture in Dresden and moved to Munich to study art. His work is mainly characterized by heavily saturated brushstrokes and bright and loud abstract colours. He suffered a nervous breakdown during 1915 when he entered military service during WWI. //Self-portrait as a Soldier//, reveals his emotions during the war. He painted himself in the uniform he wore while in service; in the painting his hand has been mutilated and he can no longer hold a paintbrush to continue painting the model that appears in the foreground (Kuhn, 1957). In 1937 his works were displayed in Degenerate Art Exhibition
 * ([|Entartete Kunst])**. In 1937 his works were displayed in Degenerate Art Exhibition (//Entartete Kunst//) and this caused him more depression. Over five hundred of his works were destroyed. He committed suicide in 1938.

= = //Self-portrait as a Soldier, 1915//

The painting below //Nude Couple in the Sun//, Kirchner is concern with emotional and humanistic values rather than decorative aims. Other paintings include //Self Portrait with Model// in which he used simplified, rhythmic lines and loud colours.

//Self Portrait with Model//


 * Oskar Kokoschka**

Oskar Kokoschka was an Austrian expressionist painter. He is best known for his expressionist portraits and landscapes. He had strong political beliefs and was an anti-Nazi. He was forced to flee to England during WWII. Many of his paintings resembled his personal life and experiences. He used lines and violent colours to express his emotions mostly linked to anger. Eight of his works were shown at Hitler's [|Entartete Kunst] exhibition in Munich in 1937, and over eight hundred of his works in German public collections were confiscated by the National Socialists.

The painting //Tempest// remains as one of Kokoschka’s most creative works. The painting represents his personal love affair. //The Tempest// is the full meaning of Kokoschka’s Expressionism, his striving toward a nonnaturalistic "expression" of inner meaning that stems from the factual circumstance of the relationship itself. Thrown into the cauldron of the painter's emotions, these two are enveloped in symbolic color to sum up the man-and-woman idea as well as the painter's helpless love (Myers, 1996). //Tempest//, 1914


 * Wassily Kandinsky**

Kandinsky was a Russian artist and the leading member of [|Der Blaue Reiter] (group of Munich artists). Kandinsky’s paintings were aimed to charge form and colour with a “purely spiritual meaning,” one that expressed his deepest feelings, by eliminating all resemblance to the physical world (Janson, 2002). The artist’s inner reality was more important than the actual reality and that can be seen in paintings such as //Composition VII//. Kandinsky perceived painting as music. Colours in painting were similar to melody in music and that is his intention in //Composition VII.//

//Composition VII, 1911//


 * Expressionism after WWII**

Under Hitler regime the practice of expressionism was banned and destroyed. Expressionism did no longer exist during and after WWII in Germany. However, Expressionism became a practice in Holland, Belgium, and United States (Händler, 1956). Expressionism in those regions was practiced directly and indirectly. The direct practice was adapted //Die Brücke// or Blue Rider forms and the indirect was influenced by [|abstract] and [|surrealism].

Bibliography

Händler, Gerhard. __German Painting in Our Time__. Berlin: Rembrandt-Verlag, 1956.

Kuhn, Charles L. __German Expressionism and Abstract Art: The Harvard Collections__. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1957.

Chilvers, Ian. __A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Art__. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Myers, Bernard S. __The German Expressionists: A Generation in Revolt__. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1966.

Janson H, Janson Anthony. __A Basic History of Art__. New Jersy: Prentice Hall, 2002.