Expressionism

Introduction
Birth and development
Expressionism in literature
Expressionism in other arts
Decline of the movement

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Emil Nolde: Dance Around the Golden Calf

Egon Schiele: Prone Young Woman with Black Stocking

Conrad Veidt carries Lil Dagover across a sharply angled, surreal rooftop set in a scene from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, directed by Robert Wiene.

At a Glance

Expressionism summary

Quizzes

Color pastels, colored chalk, colorful chalk. Hompepage blog 2009, arts and entertainment, history and society

Ultimate Art Quiz

Related Questions

How did Der Blaue Reiter contribute to Expressionism and abstract art?
How did Der Blaue Reiter differ from Die Brücke?
How did Die Brücke artists challenge academic painting traditions?
How did Edvard Munch influence German Expressionism?
How did Emil Nolde’s Expressionist prints differ from traditional prints?
How did Expressionism appear in the operas Wozzeck and Lulu by Alban Berg?
How did Expressionism influence Neo-Expressionism in the 1980s?
How did Expressionist literature respond to war and industrial society?
How did Expressionist plays use dreamlike scenes and symbolic characters?
How did Expressionist poets use condensed language to convey intense emotions?
How did Expressionist theatre influence later stage design and filmmaking?
How did Expressionist theatre rebel against middle-class materialism?
How did Expressionist theatre sets reflect a character’s mental state?
How did Georg Kaiser’s plays address technology and modern civilization?
How did George Grosz and Otto Dix combine Expressionism with social criticism?
How did Georges Rouault and Chaim Soutine use Expressionist techniques in France?
How did James Ensor contribute to the roots of Expressionism?
How did Leopold Jessner use steps and levels in Expressionist stage design?
How did Neue Sachlichkeit differ from earlier Expressionist art?
How did Stationendrama shape the structure of Expressionist theatre?
How did Vincent van Gogh influence Expressionist painting?
How did Wassily Kandinsky move from Expressionism toward abstract painting?
How did World War I affect the themes of German Expressionist art?
How did medieval German woodcuts influence Expressionist printmaking?
How did rapid urbanization influence Expressionist art and literature?
What role did Franz Marc play in Der Blaue Reiter?
What subjects did Die Brücke artists commonly depict?
When did Expressionism emerge as a distinct artistic movement in Germany?
Where and when was the first Die Brücke exhibition held?
Which German films are major examples of Expressionist cinema?
Which artists founded Die Brücke in Dresden in 1905?
Which artists influenced the early development of Expressionism?
Which themes were common in Expressionist poetry?
Which visual features make an Expressionist painting recognizable?
Why did Der Blaue Reiter artists emphasize spiritual expression in their work?
Why did Der Blaue Reiter disperse during World War I?
Why did Die Brücke disband in 1913?
Why did Die Brücke move its activities from Dresden to Berlin?
Why did Expressionism become a dominant style in Germany after World War I?
Why did Expressionist artists often depict anxiety and alienation in modern city life?
Why did Expressionist artists use vivid and jarring colors?
Why did the Nazis label Expressionist art as degenerate art?
Why were woodcuts especially important to German Expressionist artists?
What was the Eiffel Tower built for?
What does the Eiffel Tower represent?
Where is the Eiffel Tower located in Paris?
When does the Eiffel Tower sparkle?
What are some examples of famous artworks in the Louvre?
What was the Louvre originally used for?
What happened during the 2025 Louvre heist?
What did Heinrich Brüning do as chancellor in the Weimar Republic?
What was the Dawes Plan?
What was the currency introduced by Stresemann?

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External Websites

International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews - The Rise of Expressionism: When Literature Meets Art in History
Routledge Encyclopedia of Modernism - Expressionism
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen - Expressionism
TheArtStory - Expressionism
1914-1918- online - International Encyclopedia of First World War - Expressionism
Art in Context - Expressionism Art ï¿½ A History of the Expressionist Movement
Humanities LibreTexts - Expressionism (1912-1935)
Smarthistory - Expressionism, an introduction
McGill University - The Return of Expressionism and the Architecture of Luigi Moretti (PDF)
National Galleries Scotland - Expressionism

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expressionism - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Expressionism

artistic style

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Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

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Last updated

Oct. 17, 2026 •History

Expressionism, artistic style in which the artist seeks to depict not objective reality but rather the subjective emotions and responses that objects and events arouse within a person. The artist accomplishes this aim through distortion, exaggeration, primitivism, and fantasy and through the vivid, jarring, violent, or dynamic application of formal elements. In a broader sense Expressionism is one of the main currents of art in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and its qualities...

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