Enter, the reflection of the human emotional spectrum, the back-lashing antithesis to impressionism: expressionism (taking place mostly in Germany, 1880's-1925.) If you think you don't know expressionism, think again. Envision Edvard Munch's The Scream or or the jazzy colorful compositions of Kandinsky and there you have it. Expressionism took the ideas of impressionism, such as painting by feeling and ignited them into a dreamy fire. The goal of this movement was to capture life, to express the very sensation of being alive.

I truly think this capture of life-essence shines through in the work. The paint on the canvas is distorted to reflect the artist's emotions. One descriptive emotion that is often thrown around simultaneously with this movement is angst. Angst is an emotion that is still often taboo in our society, one that was not really focused on in art before. This movement was covering new ground, depicting life more accurately, bringing in the idea of self awareness.

Where impressionists focused on the visual of the objects they painted, expressionists focused solely on the feeling, tapping into raw emotions and their subconscious, then recording this human experience on the canvas. Expressionists thought that they only way to truly paint something correctly was to paint the way the artist experienced it. The result was often dynamic, vivacious palettes of colors bringing to life extremely bold compositions.

While the thick oily swirled lines of Munch's (expressionist) The Scream don't look all that different from Van Gogh's (impressionist) swirled stars, there were artists whose art began to make a halting distinction. Kandisky, believing that they way to capturing true emotions was through the simple move of a paintbrush and basic color, broke expressionism into abstraction.

Deer in the Woods II, by Franz Marc	Carnival, by Max Beckmann	On White II,by Wassily Kandinsky

What expressionism truly paved the way for was a more graphic type of art, with defined lines and simplified forms. Expressionism morphed into modern art and continues to trickle into contemporary movements. To truly love and understand contemporary art, I think one must first study expressionism, as this movement in many ways is the master to abstract and contemporary movements.

An expressionist piece adds a culturally refined and contemporary touch to any home. When I imagine an expressionist reproduction it is hard not to picture it hanging in a beautiful contemporary loft or open space with big windows. But truly, these pieces bring an understated elegant touch to any home or décor. Let Oil Painting Express bring this experience to you.