German Expressionism is a kind of art that is supposed to make you feel something. When you look at a painting such as “The Scream” by Edvard Munch (1863-1944), you ask yourself what kind of emotions does this painting give you. A group of early 20th German artists used the term “expressionism” to desribe the way they produced art. The title later turned into “German Expressionism”. This art movement was prominent during 1905-1925. In German it is known as “Die Brucke” and “Der Blaue Reiter”. Unlike Impressionism, its goals were not to reproduce the impression by the surrounding world, but to express the artists feelings on the surrounding world. Expressionism comes from the route word “expression” which means to make known or reveal or show. The text book definition of expressionism is: “An artistic style in which the artist seeks to depict not objective reality but rather the subjective emotions and responses that objects and events arouse in the artist.” The artist accomplishes this by using a different kind of technique which includes exaggeration, thick lines and colors and rythems. Expressionism sought to give shape to emotions through stylized visuals, particularly using high contrast lighting and exaggerated colors, lines and shadows, most of the examples given before. The style combines moral values and emotional expreience. It is a unique and very different style of art.Expressionism appeared in poetry and drama in Germany and Austria just before World War I, and was influenced by Freudian Theories of the subconscious and Nietzsche’s anti-rationalism ideas. Expressionism was mostly popular during times of social change or spiritual crisis. This kind of art was a way for people to express their emotions and feelings during a time in the world when they didn’t know any other way to express themselves.Some of the prominent artists of...
