Expressionism

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;Can you notice loneliness, anxiety,  isolation, or raw sexuality in these paintings?
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How about in this one? These are all topics that  expressionist artists showed in their artworks.
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Expressionism was an international movement  of the early 20th century and it was 
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present not only in art but in architecture,  theatre, cinema, dance, and literature too!
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The roots of the expressionist aesthetic can  be found in post-impressionist and symbolist 
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artworks, but also in proto-expressionist  works like Edvard Munch’s Scream!
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So let’s dive into the most expressive  period in art history together!
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If you'd like to see more Art episodes, 
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be sure to give us a like and tell us  which topics you want to learn about next!
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Expressionists aimed to show true emotions in  their works. And those emotions were often scary, 
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dark, worrying, and well - not so positive. But  expressionists wanted to show life as it truly 
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was for them, a life filled with the anxiety  and alienation present in the modern world. 
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They often used bold colors and more abstract  forms in order to get their message across, 
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or to say it more precisely,  to show their emotions 
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thoroughly. Explorations of the human psyche and  the popularity of psychoanalysis also influenced 
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the expressionist focus on the self and  the subjective ways of looking at life.
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When we think about Expressionism in the  visual arts, two groups of artists seem to 
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be particularly important. Both were based  in Germany: in Dresden, Munich and Berlin. 
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These groups were known as  the Blue Rider and The Bridge. 
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The artists connected to these two groups  defined the style of expressionism in art.
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The Bridge
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So let’s talk about Die Brucke  or The Bridge created in 1905. 
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The Bridge was founded by artists Karl  Schmidt-Rottluff, Fritz Bleyl, Erich Heckel, 
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and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. The name of the group  was taken from the writings of the famous German 
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philosopher Friedrich Nietzche who famously wrote  “What is great in man is that he is a bridge 
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and not an end.” And this artistic bridge of  our expressionists was supposed to represent 
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a path between the present and the future,  and a path between the artist and the viewer.
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These expressionist artists showed what it  was like to live in a modern city with all 
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the angst that this life could carry with it.  Like in Kirchner’s 1908 work Street Dresden, 
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we see a crowded city street that screams  intensity! And the bold colors Kirchner 
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used helped make the scene seem even more  extreme. The sidewalk is painted pink, 
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and we can assume that it probably wasn’t pink  in real life. The same goes for the faces of 
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the two women we see approaching, their  faces are green and orange. Quite intense!
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Expressionists also embraced  printmaking, especially woodcuts. 
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Prints were easier to distribute so more  people could see expressionist artworks. 
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They also often portrayed nudes, but in a  new, modern way. The poses in these often 
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sexually charged images seem casual and natural,  completely different from the female nude poses 
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people were used to seeing in academic art. In  Erich Heckel’s woodcut print Franzi Reclining, 
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we see a young model Franzi, who often modeled for  Expressionists, lying in a slightly awkward way. 
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The scene is quite different from your  typical portrait of a nude in art history. 
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The way in which Franzi’s face was  portrayed was inspired by African masks.
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Like many other artists of the  time including Fauvists or Cubists, 
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the German expressionists were inspired by  non-western art that was known as “primitive art.” 
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Kirchner was inspired by the art created  by the native artists of Africa and Oceania 
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that he saw at the Ethnological Museum in Dresden.  While Emil Nolde, another member of The Bridge, 
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also visited the Ethnographic museum  in Berlin frequently. Unfortunately, 
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The Bridge group was short-lived and it  disbanded just before the start of World War I.
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The Blue Rider
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Now, let’s travel to Munich where Der Blaue Reiter  or the Blue Rider was born. The Blue Rider was 
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active from 1911 until 1914 and it was founded  by the famous Russian artist Vasily Kandinsky. 
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The name of the group was inspired by  a frequent motif we see in Kandinsky’s 
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works - a horse rider. Horses were also seen in  works of another Blue Rider member - Franz Marc. 
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The group consisted of two other Russian artists  Alexej von Jawlensky and Marianne von Werefskin 
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and German artists like  Paul Klee and Auguste Macke.
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Kandinsky, who had the gift of synesthesia,  wanted to explore the ways in which music 
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affected spiritual states, so he started  painting visual equivalents to music, these 
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paintings he often liked to name improvisations  or compositions. In works like Composition VII 
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Kandinsky aimed to show how something musical  could also be visualized by using abstract forms.
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Unfortunately, because of World War I the  artistic group stopped working together. 
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Kandinsky had to move back to Russia, while  Macke and Marc were killed during the war.
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In Austria, Expressionism was present in the  works of artists Oscar Kokoschka and Egon 
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Schiele. Schiele, in particular, was mentored  by none other than the famous Austrian artist 
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Gustav Klimt. Focusing mostly on portraits (and  self-portraits), Schiele often showed the problems 
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of the psyche, the anxiety of the individual,  and raw sexuality that was considered shocking. 
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We can notice all of these things in his painting  called Seated Male Nude from 1910. In what happens 
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to be a self-portrait, we see an expressive,  intense, almost disturbing idea of one’s body.
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Another Austrian painter connected to Viennese  Expressionism was a man called Oskar Kokoschka. 
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Kokoschka also worked as a writer. In fact, he  wrote a play called Murderer, the Hope of Women 
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that is now considered one of the first  expressionist plays ever. In his self-portrait 
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Knight Errant, we see Kokoschka lying in the  middle of the painting dressed in a medieval 
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armor suit. The landscape around him seems to be  quite stormy and disturbing. And we can sense that 
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there is an inner struggle going on in the  main figure. A very unsettling image indeed.
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Expressionists aimed to show emotional  intensity. Showing realistic features of people, 
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places or things wasn’t as important as  showing the reality of one’s inner world. 
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And Expressionism represents an important  chapter in the history of modern art. 
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The expressionist ways of showing  things affected art movements like 
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New Objectivity, Neo-Expressionism, and  obviously Abstract Expressionism greatly.
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What do you think about expressionism?  Do you find it disturbing? 
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Who’s your favorite expressionist artist? Let us  know in the comments and don’t forget to subscribe 
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***
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introduction
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expressionism was a radical and
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transformative artistic and literary
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movement that emerged in Germany between
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1910 and 1925.
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it was characterized by a departure from
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realistic depiction of life
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and a focus on conveying powerful
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emotional states of Mind through
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distorted representations of the
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external world
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this video explores the origins key
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features and influence of expressionism
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in literature painting and drama
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the precursors of expressionisms in the
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visual arts included Vincent van Gogh
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Paul goggin and Edward Munch
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whose Work Incorporated Visionary and
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emotional elements
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in literature Charles baudler Arthur
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rimbard fighter dostoarsky Friedrich
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Niche and augustineberg were among the
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notable figures who departed from
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realism and explored emotional intensity
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Rebellion against realism
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expressionism revolted against the
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traditional artistic and literary Norms
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of realism it sought to express the
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individuals troubled or emotionally
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tense vision of life and Society
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through exaggeration Distortion and
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vivid imagery expressionists conveyed
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violent extremes of mood and feeling
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they often depicted individuals facing
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the disintegration of an industrial and
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technological Society
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alone and Afraid
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expressionist painters used jagged lines
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contorted forms and arbitrary vibrant
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colors to convey emotional intensity
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Among The prominent painters were Amil
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naldi friends Mark Oscar kokokshka and
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Wesley candisky
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specialist poets such as Gottfried Ben
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George truckel broke away from
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traditional poetic structures using
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symbolic images to express their
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emotional states
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drama drama played a significant role in
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expressionism with playwrights like
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George caser and Ernest taller
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representing Anonymous human types and
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focusing on intense emotional states
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expressionist drama often employed
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fragmented dialogue masks and Abstract
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stage sets
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Max Reinhardt a producer introduced
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modern theatrical devices such as the
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revolving stage and special lighting and
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sound effects
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expressionisms influence extended to the
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American Theater with Eugene O'Neill's
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the emperor Jones and Elmer Rises the
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adding machine
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employing non-realistic means to
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represent emotional turmoil and societal
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disintegration
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influence Beyond Germany the
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expressionist movement started to wane
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by 1925 and was suppressed by Nazis in
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Germany during the early 1930s
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however its influence continued in
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English and American art and literature
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expressionism's effects can be observed
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in plays like Thornton Wilders the skin
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of our teeth and Arthur Miller's Death
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of a Salesman
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as well as in the theater of the Absurd
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it also influenced poetry fiction and
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films by artists like Alan Ginsburg
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Samuel Beckett
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ingmar Bergman and Frederico Fellini
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conclusion in conclusion expressionism
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was groundbreaking artistic and literary
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movement that defied realism and sought
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to express emotional intensity and
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individual Visions its influence can
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still be seen in modern art literature
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and Cinema
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so this was the discussion on the term
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expressionism if you have any doubts or
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questions you can ask in the comments
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section
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we will meet in the next video with some
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other term
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until then goodbye and thank you

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