Create a new account

It's simple, and free.

Expressionism as an Artistic Movement

As an artistic movement, the original form of Expressionism encompassed all progressive movements from Fauvism and Cubism to Futurism and early abstract works. In its later form, Expressionism denoted the artistic movement that reached its peak in the early part of the 20th Century, primarily in Germany (Dictionary of 20th Century Art). This paper will describe the concerns, subject matter and motivations of Expressionism as an artistic movement, and compare it with other aesthetic positions such as Impressionism.

Expressionism may be viewed as a reaction to Impressionism. The Impressionistic movement itself was a reaction to the rigid academic conventions of the Salon. The concern of the ImpressionistsùMonet, Renoir, Manet, Morisot, Degas, Cezanne, Cassatt, Pissarroùwas to capture ôan instantaneous impression of a scene in natureö (Stokstad 1019). MonetÆs Impression, Sunrise, and ManetÆs Le Dejeuner sur lÆHerbe are two examples. In addition to nature, other Impressionist subject matter included scenes of city life and urban leisure. Examples include MonetÆs Boulevard des Capucines, Paris, and RenoirÆs Moulin de la Galette. As Stokstad observes, Renoir glamorized the working class, and ôthe ease of their relations is emphasized by the relaxed informality of the composition itselfö (1024).

While the Impressionists were concerned with external appearances, the Expressionists were concerned with expressing the innermost feelings of the artists, not physical reality; the different approaches and motivations inform the aesthetic position of each artistic movement. Compare Mary CassattÆs Woman in a Loge with Edvard MunchÆs The Scream and the different artistic sensibilities of Impressionism and Expressionism are vividly demonstrated.

Van Gogh, Gaugin, and the Post-Impressionist movement that portrayed the psychological aspects of their subject matter influenced the artistic vision of the Expressionists. Symbolism...

Page 1 of 3 Next >

More on Expressionism as an Artistic Movement...

Loading...
APA     MLA     Chicago
Expressionism as an Artistic Movement. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 02:22, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1700585.html