Expressionism is a modernist movement that began in poetry and painting in Northern Europe around the start of the 20th century. A key feature of Expressionism is showing the world from a personal viewpoint, changing it greatly to create strong emotional effects and to express feelings or ideas. Expressionist artists focused on showing the meaning of emotions rather than how things look in real life.

Expressionism started as a new and innovative style before World War I. It stayed popular during the Weimar Republic, especially in Berlin. The style spread to many areas of the arts, such as architecture, painting, literature, theatre, dance, film, and music. Paris became a place where many Expressionist artists, many of Jewish background, gathered. They were called the School of Paris. After World War II, Expressionism influenced artists and styles worldwide.

The word "Expressionism" sometimes makes people think of worry or anxiety. Historically, older artists like Matthias Grünewald and El Greco are sometimes called Expressionist, but the term is mostly used for works from the 20th century. The focus on personal and individual viewpoints in Expressionism is seen as a response to ideas like positivism and other styles such as Naturalism and Impressionism.

Etymology and history

The word "Expressionist" was used in the modern sense as early as 1850. Some people believe the term began with paintings shown in Paris in 1901 by an artist named Julien-Auguste Hervé, who called them "Expressionismes." Others say the term was first used by a Czech art historian named Antonin Matějček in 1910. He described Expressionism as a style where artists focus on expressing their own feelings rather than just showing what they see. Expressionists use deeper thoughts and feelings, not just immediate impressions, and simplify complex ideas into symbols and short forms.

Important influences on Expressionism include the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, especially his book Thus Spoke Zarathustra; plays by the Swedish writer August Strindberg, such as To Damascus and The Ghost Sonata; the German writer Frank Wedekind, known for his plays Erdgeist and Pandora's Box; the American poet Walt Whitman and his collection Leaves of Grass; the Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky; the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch; the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh; the Belgian painter James Ensor; and the Austrian psychologist Sigmund Freud.

In 1905, four German artists, led by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, formed a group called Die Brücke (The Bridge) in Dresden. This group is often seen as the start of the German Expressionist movement, even though they did not use the word "Expressionism" themselves. A few years later, in 1911, another group called Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) formed in Munich. The name came from a painting by Wassily Kandinsky titled Der Blaue Reiter (1903). Members of this group included Kandinsky, Franz Marc, Paul Klee, and August Macke. The term "Expressionism" became widely used around 1913. Though Expressionism began in Germany and was most common in painting, poetry, and theater between 1910 and 1930, many of its early influences were not German. Expressionist writers also created prose fiction, and non-German-speaking artists used Expressionist styles. The movement declined in Germany after Adolf Hitler rose to power in the 1930s, but Expressionist works continued to be made later.

Expressionism is hard to define because it overlaps with other art styles like Futurism, Vorticism, Cubism, Surrealism, and Dadaism. Some artists, like Franz Kafka and Gottfried Benn, were called Expressionists but also said they were not.

Expressionism began in the early 1900s, mainly in Germany, as a reaction to the effects of industrialization and growing cities. It focused on showing personal emotions rather than realistic scenes. Expressionists rejected the idea of realism, which aims to show the world as it is. The term "Expressionism" describes art that shows how people feel about objects and events, not just what they look like. While all artists express emotions, many works from the 15th century onward showed strong emotions, especially during times of conflict, such as wars and religious changes. These works often stirred strong feelings in viewers, even if they were not always beautiful.

Some critics compare Expressionism to the Baroque style. Art historian Michel Ragon and philosopher Walter Benjamin said Expressionism and Baroque are similar. However, Alberto Arbasino noted that Expressionism is more direct and unafraid of showing unpleasant images, while Baroque art is more polite and orderly.

Groups of painters

The style began mainly in Germany and Austria. There were groups of expressionist painters, such as Der Blaue Reiter and Die Brücke. Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider, named after a painting) was based in Munich, and Die Brücke (The Bridge) started in Dresden (some members later moved to Berlin). Die Brücke was active for a longer time than Der Blaue Reiter, which only lasted for one year (1912). Expressionist artists were influenced by artists like Edvard Munch, Vincent van Gogh, and African art. They also noticed the work of the Fauves in Paris, who used colors and compositions that seemed unusual. In contrast to French Impressionism, which focused on showing how things look, Expressionist artists tried to express emotions and personal views. They believed it was more important to show strong feelings through bold colors and active designs than to create pleasing images. Kandinsky, a key artist in Der Blaue Reiter, thought simple colors and shapes could help viewers feel the moods in paintings, which led him to create more abstract works.

In Paris, a group of artists called the École de Paris (School of Paris) by André Warnod was also known for expressionist art. This style was especially common among Jewish painters from other countries, such as Chaim Soutine, Marc Chagall, Yitzhak Frenkel, Abraham Mintchine, and others. These artists’ expressionism was described as restless and emotional by Frenkel. Many of them lived in the Montparnasse area of Paris and painted human subjects, using facial expressions to show feelings. Others focused on showing emotions rather than creating structured designs. The art of Jewish expressionists was often seen as dramatic and tragic, possibly linked to Jewish suffering from past persecution and violence.

German expressionism influenced American artist Marsden Hartley, who met Kandinsky in Germany in 1913. Katherine Sophie Dreier and Marcel Duchamp were among the first to bring “modern art” to New York when they started the Société Anonyme in 1920. Their efforts were continued in 1929 by William Henry Fox, director of the Brooklyn Museum, who supported modern and Expressionist art. At first, people in the United States were unsure about Expressionist art. However, after the 1937 Munich exhibition “Entartete Kunst” (Degenerate Art), American museums began to collect and display more Expressionist works, especially to show them as a form of resistance against an oppressive government. In late 1939, as World War II began, many European artists moved to New York City. After the war, Expressionism inspired many young American artists. Norris Embry (1921–1981) studied with Oskar Kokoschka in 1947 and created many works in the Expressionist style over the next 43 years. Embry is known as "the first American German Expressionist." Other American artists in the late 20th and early 21st centuries developed styles that can be linked to Expressionism.

After World War II, figurative expressionism influenced artists worldwide. In the United States, American Expressionism and American Figurative Expressionism, especially Boston Expressionism, were important parts of American modernism during and after World War II. Thomas B. Hess wrote that "the ‘New figurative painting’ some expected as a reaction against Abstract Expressionism was already present in it from the beginning, and is one of its most direct continuities."

In other arts

The Expressionist movement included other types of culture, such as dance, sculpture, cinema, and theatre. Important people in expressionist dance were Mary Wigman, Rudolf von Laban, and Pina Bausch. Some sculptors used the Expressionist style, like Ernst Barlach. Others, such as Erich Heckel, were mainly painters but also made sculptures.

German cinema had an Expressionist style. Important examples include Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), Paul Wegener’s The Golem: How He Came into the World (1920), Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927), and F. W. Murnau’s Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror (1922) and The Last Laugh (1924). The term "expressionist" is sometimes used for styles that look similar to German Expressionism, such as film noir or the work of Ingmar Bergman. Techniques linked to this movement include distorted set designs, lighting that uses strong contrasts between light and dark, exaggerated acting, unusual camera angles, and overlapping images. These styles appear in classic Hollywood films, like F.W. Murnau’s Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927), showing the influence of German filmmakers on American cinema.

In general, the term "expressionism" can describe cinematic styles with strong, artificial elements, such as the colorful melodramas of Douglas Sirk or the visual and sound design of David Lynch’s films.

Two important Expressionist journals in Berlin were Der Sturm, started in 1910 by Herwarth Walden, and Die Aktion, first published in 1911 by Franz Pfemfert. Der Sturm included poetry and prose by writers like Peter Altenberg, Max Brod, Richard Dehmel, Alfred Döblin, Anatole France, Knut Hamsun, Arno Holz, Karl Kraus, Selma Lagerlöf, Adolf Loos, Heinrich Mann, Paul Scheerbart, and René Schickele. It also featured art by Kokoschka, Kandinsky, and members of Der blaue Reiter.

Oskar Kokoschka’s 1909 play, Murderer, The Hope of Women, is often called the first Expressionist drama. It tells the story of a man and woman fighting for control. The man marks the woman, who then stabs and imprisons him. He escapes, and she dies when he touches her. At the end, he kills everyone around him "like mosquitoes." This play used simple, symbolic characters, group performances, loud dialogue, and intense emotions, which became common in later Expressionist plays. The German composer Paul Hindemith later made an operatic version of this play, which premiered in 1921.

Expressionism greatly influenced early 20th-century German theatre. Famous playwrights included Georg Kaiser and Ernst Toller. Other notable Expressionist dramatists were Reinhard Sorge, Walter Hasenclever, Hans Henny Jahnn, and Arnolt Bronnen. Important earlier influences were the Swedish playwright August Strindberg and the German actor and writer Frank Wedekind. In the 1920s, Expressionism briefly influenced American theatre, including plays by Eugene O’Neill (The Hairy Ape, The Emperor Jones, and The Great God Brown), Sophie Treadwell (Machinal), and Elmer Rice (The Adding Machine).

Expressionist plays often focus on the spiritual struggles and suffering of their characters. Some use a structure called Stationendramen (station plays), inspired by the story of Jesus’ suffering in the Stations of the Cross. Strindberg first used this form in his trilogy To Damascus. These plays also often show conflicts with traditional values and authority, often represented by a father figure. For example, in Reinhard Sorge’s The Beggar (Der Bettler), a mentally ill father dreams of mining Mars’ riches and is poisoned by his son. In Arnolt Bronnen’s Parricide (Vatermord), a son kills his tyrannical father but must deal with his mother’s intense emotional advances.

In Expressionist drama, dialogue can be long and emotional or short and direct. Director Leopold Jessner became famous for his Expressionist productions, often set on steep, narrow stairs (an idea borrowed from Symbolist director Edward Gordon Craig). Staging was important, with directors avoiding realistic settings and instead arranging actors in flat, two-dimensional movements. Lighting was used to create strong contrasts and emphasize emotions or messages.

Important German Expressionist playwrights include:
– Georg Kaiser
– Ernst Toller
– Reinhard Sorge
– Walter Hasenclever
– Hans Henny Jahnn
– Arnolt Bronnen

Playwrights influenced by Expressionism:
– Eugene O’Neill
– Sophie Treadwell
– Elmer Rice

Poets associated with German Expressionism:
– Stefan George
– Georg Trakl
– Gottfried Benn
– Else Lasker-Schüler

Other poets influenced by Expressionism:
– Johannes R. Becher
– Hans Arp

In prose, the early works of Alfred Döblin were influenced by Expressionism. Franz Kafka is sometimes called an Expressionist. Other writers and works linked to Expressionism include:
– Johannes R. Becher’s The German Youth
– Hans Arp’s The Happy Days
– Johannes R. Becher’s The German Youth

The term "Expressionism" was first used for music in 1918, especially for Arnold Schoenberg. Like painter Kandinsky, Schoenberg avoided traditional beauty to express strong emotions in his music. Important Expressionist composers were Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern, and Alban Berg (from the Second Viennese School). Schoenberg was also an Expressionist painter. Other composers linked to Expressionism include:
– Ernst Krenek (Second Symphony)
– Paul Hindemith (The Young Maiden)
– Igor Stravinsky (Japanese Songs)
– Alexander Scriabin (late piano sonatas)
– Béla Bartók (Bluebeard’s Castle, The Wooden Prince, The Miraculous Mandarin)

Important earlier influences on Expressionist music were Richard Wagner, Gustav Mahler, and Richard Strauss.

Theodor Adorno described Expressionist music as focusing on the unconscious and the feeling of fear. He said dissonance (clashing sounds) was central, removing harmony from art. Examples of Expressionist music include Schoenberg’s Erwartung and Die Glückliche Hand, and Alban Berg’s opera Wozzeck (based on Georg Büchner’s play Woyzeck). Like Expressionist paintings, which distort reality to create a nightmarish effect, Expressionist music uses intense dissonance