Expressionism

Expressionism was the major literary and art form in Germany beginning in the early 20th century. It flourished before and during the First World War and continued to be the dominant art form of the Early Weimar Republic. The war forced a new generation of artists and authors to mature quickly due to the horrific effects of the war that they’d witnessed. Many of the authors and artists of the time either had to fight in the war, or had directly experienced the destruction the war brought to their families, friends, and the continent (Kennedy 1). Expressionism was born from these circumstances, starting in 1905 with a group of architecture students in Germany. Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Max Pechstein, and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff founded the artist’s association that they called Die Brücke (The Bridge) (Lloyd vi). These artists revealed their desire for directness, freedom, and authenticity of expression in their sensuous artwork, which was often of the naked female body (National Gallery of Art). Most expressionist artists expressed discontent with the authoritarian structure of society. Expressionism took the natural form of an object and distorted it to convey inner feelings and primal emotions. Artists placed emphasis on the experience by adding bold and sharp colors to their work (Kennedy 3). The movement had an interesting relationship with politics as expressionism became an outlet for artists of various political standpoints. Author Shane Michael Kennedy discussed writers like Brecht who later supported Communism, and others like Hanns Johst who was an avid supporter of the Nazi party (Kennedy 19). Historians still disagree today on what Expressionism is. Many artists who historians now view as classic Expressionists themselves rejected the label (Bassie 9).