Art style Expressionism
Expressionism
Particularly in Germany, Expressionism emerged as a deliberate departure from the strict rules of academic art. Artists sought new forms of expression beyond traditional ideals of beauty. They found inspiration both in medieval art and in so-called "primitive" art from non-European cultures, such as masks or ritual figures, whose immediate expressive power fascinated them.
Significant impulses came from the artist group "Die Brücke", founded in 1905, which included Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, and Fritz Bleyl. Their works were characterized by intense colors, angular shapes, and a radical subjectivity. Parallel to this, the Fauvism movement developed in France, also emphasizing color, but focusing more on painterly freedom than on social or existential questions.
Another central contribution was made by the artist group "Der Blaue Reiter", founded in Munich in 1911, led by Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc. Members also included August Macke, Gabriele Münter, Paul Klee, and Alexej von Jawlensky. Their common goal was to expand the expressive possibilities of art and make the spiritual visible in images – an approach that significantly contributed to the development of abstract painting.
