Art History: Expressionism
The world condition at the beginning of the 20th century was chaotic at best.  Many European countries had overseas colonies which were striving for independence, and war was close to breaking out between the European countries because of nationalism and imperialist goals of expansion.  These chaotic world events caused a division in the artistic community into two paths, an impressionist path and a formalist path.  The formalist path held that society is inevitably chaotic and cannot be reformed.  Expressionism, which belonged to the impressionist path, held that society must be reformed and we have the responsibility to fix it for the future of mankind.  Inspired in large part by Nietzsche, Expressionists contended that each man should strive to be the best man possible for the good of mankind.

Expressionism is a broad style, including smaller movements such as Fauvism in France and Die Brucke in Germany.  Henri Matisse, who founded the Fauvist movement, can be considered the first 20th century Expressionist.  He wanted to create lovely paintings that would lend comfort and solace to the viewer.  To achieve this goal, he painted using subjective colors and abstract figures, emphasizing only the primary features of each form.  His painting, “The Joy of Life,” is a wonderful example of his style—subjective colors along with abstract forms—and how it creates an uplifting image.

Many artists were inspired by Matisse, and elements of his style quickly spread to Germany and Russia.  In Germany, Ernst Kirchner used abstract forms and arbitrary colors to create a sharp, fearful image of metropolitan life with the purpose of calling attention to the heartlessness often common in large cities.  His painting “Berlin Street” is filled with sharp, razor-like lines and contradictory colors to create an aggressive statement against life in Berlin.  Kathe Kollwitz used the same style to create a desperate tone in her painting “The Outbreak,” though she omitted colors from this piece.

In Russia, Wassily Kandinsky was also inspired by the paintings of Matisse.  While the Germans principally adopted his style, Kandinsky adopted his goal of creating an uplifting image to edify the viewer.  Kandinsky’s “Improvisation 28” is even more abstract than Fauvist paintings, and without help from the author, no meaning is immediately evident.  To Kandinsky, and many Expressionists, his work was inherently spiritual, and many of his paintings had underlying spiritual themes or narratives hidden behind the abstract forms.  He used abstract forms to cause the reader to continue returning to the work of art until it was fully understood, allowing the viewer to become more fully immersed in the work of art.  Kandinsky also held that a viewer should use synesthesia while interpreting a work of art, using their whole body and soul to become involved in the whole experience of the painting.  In true form to the Expressionist philosophy, Kandisky’s purpose was to somehow improve and uplift the viewer through the painting.

The abstract, subjective style used by Kandinsky and the other artists of the Expressionist movement had a lasting impact on later art movements in Europe as well as in the United States.  The abstract forms and subjective coloring had an enormous influence on Surrealism and every other movement that has followed it.  After World War II, elements of Expressionism began to spread in the United States, influencing Pollock’s Abstract Expressionist style, and the abstract nature of Expressionism continues to influence the majority of American art today.

 

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