Expressionism

[ik-spresh-uh-niz-uhm]

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.

expressionism

/ 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

expressionism

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.

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of expressionism¹

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

Example Sentences

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.

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Benson is curating a show featuring 24 works from the gift, titled “Austrian Expressionism and Otto Kallir,” which will open Nov. 23 and run through May 31, 2026.

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“German expressionism has always been something of an outlier in terms of American museum exhibition and collecting priorities,” Jane said.

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LACMA’s strength up until now, however, was German Expressionism, Barron said, adding that the museum’s collection of Austrian Expressionism was weak.

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He was also inspired by old B-movies and German Expressionism along with lessons learned from the stage.

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