Art Term

German expressionism

German expressionism was an early twentieth century German art movement that emphasized the artist's inner feelings or ideas over replicating reality, and was characterised by simplified shapes, bright colours and gestural marks or brushstrokes

Karl Schmidt-Rottluff
Dr Rosa Schapire (1919)
Tate

There were two main groups of German expressionist artists: Die Brücke (the bridge) led by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, and Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) led by Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc.

  • Expressionism

    Expressionism refers to art in which the image of reality is distorted in order to make it expressive of the artist’s inner feelings or ideas

  • Brücke

    Brücke was a German expressionist group founded in Dresden in 1905 which developed a radical anti-traditional style characterised by vivid non-naturalistic colour and emotional tension

  • Der Blaue Reiter

    Der Blaue Reiter was a German expressionist group originating in Munich in 1909

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