Introducing Expressionism to College Students- An Overview

Expressionism

Expressionism is a current in modern art that spreads across many countries and encompasses a variety of styles and techniques. Rather than paint outward appearances, expressionist artists turn inward, painting according to their own subjective psychological impulses. The revolutionary artists involved in this movement expressed their spiritual and emotional worlds through exaggerated images of people and places – or through purely abstract painting – using suggestive colours, shapes, and lines.

Two early expressionists, Vincent van Gogh and Edvard Munch, created a radical new art – portraying highly dramatic subjects with intense colours, dynamic brushstrokes, and distorted forms. A second wave of expressionism took place in Dresden, Germany, from 1905 – 13, with the founding of the group Die Brüke (The Bridge). Led by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, these artists reacted against established academic art and the social order, seeking freedom to communicate their individuality. Psychologically charged, they used clashing colours, hard-edged forms, and bold outlines to express their inner conflicts and the anxieties of modern life. IN Munich, the artists’ group Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider), founded by Vasily Kandinsky and Franz Marc in 1911, used imagination and spirituality as a source of inspiration. Kandinsky captured his inner world and spiritual life in vibrant abstract paintings, The German Expressionist groups disbanded with the onset of World War I. in the 1930s many of their works were removed from museums and confiscated by the Nazis. Despite such opposition, the German Expressionists opened doors for generations of modern artists worldwide to explore their own creativity.

Drawing upon the expressionist emphasis on individuality, Abstract Expressionism evolved in the United States from 1945 – 60 with two leading figures, Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. For these artists, the physical act of painting itself – the flow and energy of colour and paint – became a dynamic means of expression. Exploring exuberant gestures and movements, they became known as “action painters.”

Each of the artists courageously followed their own vision. Some achieved fame in their lifetimes, while others, such as van Gogh, sold only one painting. By following their own approaches to art making, they inspire us to seek out personal ways to express ourselves – however different or unconventional we might be.


Vincent van Gogh, Self-Portrait, 1889,
oil on canvas,65 x 54.5cm


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