Expressionism is a style of painting that emerged in the early 20th century, mainly in Germany and France, as a reaction to the social, political, and cultural changes of the time. Expressionism aimed to express the inner feelings and emotions of the artist and the viewer, rather than to depict the objective reality of the external world. Expressionism used intense colors, distorted forms, exaggerated gestures, and expressive brushstrokes to create paintings that were often shocking, emotional, and sometimes mystical.

Expressionism was influenced by several artistic and cultural movements, such as Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Symbolism, Fauvism, and Art Nouveau. Expressionism also drew inspiration from the works of Vincent van Gogh, Edvard Munch, James Ensor, and Paul Gauguin, who used vivid colors and expressive forms to convey their personal visions and emotions.

Expressionism can be divided into two main groups: Die Brücke (“The Bridge”) and Der Blaue Reiter (“The Blue Rider”). Die Brücke was founded in 1905 by a group of German artists, including Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, and Emil Nolde. They were influenced by the primitive art of Africa and Oceania, as well as by the urban life and social problems of Berlin. They used bright colors, simplified shapes, and dynamic compositions to create paintings that expressed their feelings of alienation, anxiety, and rebellion.

Der Blaue Reiter was founded in 1911 by a group of German artists, including Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, August Macke, Paul Klee, and Alexej von Jawlensky. They were influenced by the spiritual and mystical aspects of art, as well as by the music of Arnold Schoenberg. They used abstract forms, symbolic colors, and lyrical compositions to create paintings that expressed their inner visions and harmonies.

Expressionism was not only a movement in painting but also in literature, music, theater, film, and architecture. Some of the most influential expressionist writers include Franz Kafka , Georg Trakl , Rainer Maria Rilke , Gottfried Benn , Alfred Döblin , Bertolt Brecht , Georg Kaiser , Ernst Toller , Frank Wedekind , and August Strindberg . Some of the most influential expressionist composers include Arnold Schoenberg , Alban Berg , Anton Webern , Alexander Scriabin , Béla Bartók , Igor Stravinsky , Paul Hindemith , Kurt Weill , Erwin Schulhoff , and Hanns Eisler . Some of the most influential expressionist filmmakers include Robert Wiene , Fritz Lang , F.W. Murnau , Georg Wilhelm Pabst , Carl Theodor Dreyer , Sergei Eisenstein , Luis Buñuel , Jean Cocteau , Ingmar Bergman , Federico Fellini , and Werner Herzog . Some of the most influential expressionist architects include Erich Mendelsohn , Bruno Taut , Hans Poelzig , Walter Gropius , Ludwig Mies van der Rohe , Hans Scharoun , Le Corbusier , Frank Lloyd Wright , Eero Saarinen , Oscar Niemeyer , and Jørn Utzon .

Expressionism had a significant impact on the development of modern art and contemporary art. It inspired many later movements, such as Abstract Expressionism, Neo-Expressionism, Fauvism, Cobra Group, Art Brut, Informel, Tachisme, Action Painting, Color Field Painting, Lyrical Abstraction, New Objectivity, Magic Realism, Social Realism, Existentialism, Surrealism, Dada, and others.