Famous Expressionism Artists
Expressionism describes a movement in art history toward a more subjective style of portraying art subjects. The imagery emphasizes distortion, emotion, vivid color and intensity. Expressionism developed most notably in Germany during the later part of the 19th century. A particularly wide range of artists became known in history as famous Expressionism artists.
• Edvard Munch (1863-1944) was a Norwegian painter who called his paintings “his children.” His expressive style is most famous in his painting The Scream, which depicted a powerful sense of anxiety. Munch lived an isolated life and, upon his death, authorities discovered thousands of drawings, paintings, lithographs, photographs and woodcuts.
• Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) was considered one of the founding fathers of abstract painting. Though he was born in Russia, he moved to Germany to study art. Kandinsky declared in his book Blaeu Reiter (Blue Rider) Almanac, "We should strive not for restriction but for liberation…only on a spot that has become free can something grow."
• A famous French painter of Expressionism was Georges Rouault (1871-1958). He attracted criticism for an early series of paintings focusing upon clowns, prostitutes, and courts. Later, he chose religious subjects reflective of Christianity.
• Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938) was first a student of architecture, but became interested in fine arts during a visit to Nuremberg. He suffered from illnesses that included stays in sanatoriums, impacting his work. Several of Kirchner’s paintings depict street and city scenes. Kirchner committed suicide in 1938, distraught over denunciation by the Nazis of his art works.
• Born in Switzerland but of German nationality, Paul Klee (1879-1940) had a style stemmed in part from his interest in German idealistic metaphysics. He was considered one of the greatest avant-garde artists of the twentieth century.