Overview of Expressionism

One of the many great things about living in Los Angeles is the wide variety of high-quality museums. A recent visit to the exhibit Expressionism in Germany and France: From Van Gogh to Kandinsky at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art inspired me to learn more about Expressionism. I had been a long time Kandinsky fan, but didn’t know much about the other artists of this period or their distinct style of art.

Overview of Expressionism

The Expressionist style originated in the early 1900s in Europe. Many of the painters worked in Germany, France, Russia, and Austria.
Where previous styles focused on accurately representing things as they appeared, Expressionist artists took inspiration from their own feelings and interpretations to create subjective works of art.
There were several Expressionist groups that formed based on their shared philosophies and values: Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider), Die Brücke (The Bridge), Bauhaus, and Die Neue Sachlichkeit (The New Objectivity).
Some noted Expressionist artists include Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, Emil Nolde, and Paul Klee.

Expressionist Artworks

Here are some highlights from the exhibit Expressionism in Germany and France: From Van Gogh to Kandinsky at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The exhibit included Expressionist works along with the some of the artists that inspired the movement.