Expressionism

American  

[ik-spresh-uh-niz-uhm] / ɪkˈsprɛʃ əˌnɪz əm /

noun

1. Fine Arts.

   1. (usually lowercase) a manner of painting, drawing, sculpting, etc., in which forms derived from nature are distorted or exaggerated and colors are intensified for emotive or expressive purposes.

   2. a style of art developed in the 20th century, characterized chiefly by heavy, often black lines that define forms, sharply contrasting, often vivid colors, and subjective or symbolic treatment of thematic material.

   3. German Expressionismus.  modern art, especially the experimental or nonacademic styles of contemporary art.

2. (often lowercase) a style of playwriting and stage presentation stressing the emotional content of a play, the subjective reactions of the characters, symbolic or abstract representations of reality, and nonnaturalistic techniques of scenic design.

3. Literature. a technique of distorting objects and events in order to represent them as they are perceived by a character in a literary work.

4. (usually lowercase) a phase in the development of early 20th-century music marked by the use of atonality and complex, unconventional rhythm, melody, and form, intended to express the composer's psychological and emotional life.

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expressionism British  

/ ɪkˈsprɛʃəˌnɪzəm /

noun

1. (sometimes capital) an artistic and literary movement originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century, which sought to express emotions rather than to represent external reality: characterized by the use of symbolism and of exaggeration and distortion

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expressionism Cultural  

1. An artistic style that departs from the conventions of realism (see also realism) and naturalism (see also naturalism) and seeks to convey inner experience by distorting rather than directly representing natural images. The highly personal visions communicated in the paintings of Vincent van Gogh are early examples of expressionism. Edvard Munch and Georges Rouault are considered expressionist painters.

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Other Word Forms

• Expressionist noun
• Expressionistic adjective
• Expressionistically adverb
• antiexpressionism noun
• antiexpressionist noun
• antiexpressionistic adjective
• expressionist noun
• expressionistic adjective
• nonexpressionistic adjective
• proexpressionism noun
• proexpressionist noun
• proexpressionistic adjective
• semiexpressionistic adjective

Etymology

Origin of Expressionism

1905–10; < German Expressionismus See expression, -ism

Example Sentences

In the “Post-World War II” gallery, we read that Abstract Expressionism was “a movement shaped by the work of many Jewish artists” who left realism behind partly because of the war’s trauma.

From The Wall Street Journal

The segment expertly samples the jagged production design and theatrical lighting of German Expressionism’s heyday.

From Los Angeles Times

The often-stretched stylings and unconventional palette call to mind German Expressionism and the work of Egon Schiele.

From The Wall Street Journal

That said, the show has left 11 gaping holes in the meticulously orchestrated ensembles Barnes created in his foundation—where he mingled Rousseau’s paintings with works of folk art, medieval religious art, Realism, Symbolism, Expressionism and Surrealism.

From The Wall Street Journal

More than 100 works of Austrian Expressionism are being gifted to Los Angeles County Museum of Art by the family of Otto Kallir, a renowned art dealer who immigrated to America in 1938 after the German Reich annexed Austria.

From Los Angeles Times