Expressionism: A Bold New Movement

In the early 1900s, a movement arose in the Western

art world that came to be known as expressionism.
Expressionist artists created works with more
emotional force, rather than with realistic or natural
images. To achieve this, they distorted outlines,
applied strong colors, and exaggerated forms. They
worked more with their imagination and feelings,
rather than with what their eyes saw in the physical
world.

Among the various styles that arose within the

expressionist art movements were:
-neoprimitivism
-fauvism
-dadaism
-surrealism
-social realism
 Neoprimitivism

Neoprimitivism was an art style that incorporated

elements from the native arts of the South Sea
Islanders and the wood carvings of African tribes
that surged in popularity at that time. Among the
western artists who adapted these elements was
Amedeo Modigliani, who used the oval faces and
elongated shapes of African art in both his
sculptures and paintings.
Head Yellow Sweater
Amedeo Modigliani, c. 1913 Amedeo Modigliani, 1919
Stone Oil on canvas
 Fauvism
Fauvism was a style that used bold, vibrant colors
and visual distortions. Its name was derived from
les fauves ( “ wild beasts”), reffering to the group
of French expressionist painters who painted in this
style. Perhaps the most known among them was
Henri Matisse.
Blue Window Woman with Hat
Henri Matisse, 1911 Henri Matisse, 1905
Oil on canvas Oil on canvas
 Melancholy and Mystery of a
Street
Giorgio de Chirico, 1914

Dadaism
Oil on Canvas

Dadaism was a style characterized by

dream fantasies, memory images, and
visual tricks and surprises –as in the
paintings of Giorgio de Chirico. Although
the works appeared playful, the
movement arose from the pain that a
group of European artists felt after the
suffering brought by World War I. Wishing
to protest against the civilization that had
brought on such horrors, these artists
rebelled against established norms and
authorities, and against the traditional
styles in art. They chose the child’s term fir
hobbyhorse, dada, to refer to their new ‘’
nonstyle ’’.
 Persistence of Memory
Salvador Dali, 1931
Oil on Canvas

Surrealism
Surrealism was a style that
depicted an illogical, subconscious
dream world that seemed to exist
beyond the logical, conscious,
physical on. Its name came from
the term ’’ super realism’’, with its
artworks clearly expressing a
departure from reality– as though
the artists were dreaming, seeing
illusions, or experiencing an altered
mental state.
Many surrealist works depicted morbid or gloomy subjects, as in those by
perhaps the best- known surrealist Salvador Dali. Others seemed quite
playful and even humorous, such as those by Marc Chagall, Paul Klee,
and Joan Miro.
I and the Village Diana Personages with Star
Marc Chagall, 1911 Paul Klee, 1932 Joan Miro, 1933
Oil on canvas Oil on Wood Oil on canvas
 Social Realism

 The movement known as social realism expressed the

artist’s role in social reform. Here, artists used their works to
protest against the injustices, inequalities, immorality, and
uglinessof the human condition. In different periods of
history, social realists have addressed different issues: war,
poverty, corruption, industrial and environmental hazards,
and more- in the hope of raising people’s awareness and
pushing society to seek reforms.
 Miners’ Wives
Ben Shahn, 1948
Egg tempera on board
Ben Shahn’s Miners’
Wives, for example,
spoke out against the
hazardous conditions
faced by coal miners,
after a tragic’ accident
killed 111 workers in
Illinois in 1947, leaving
their wives and children
in mourning.
 Guernica
Pablo Picasso,1937
Oil in Canvas
Pablo Picasso’s Guernica has
been recognized as the most
monumental and
comprehensive statement of
social realism against the
brutality of war. Filling one
wall of the Spanish Pavilion at
the 1937 Worlds Fair in Paris, it
was Picasso’s outcry against
the German air raid of the
town of Guernica in his native
Spain.