Definition of Expressionism - What it is, Meaning and Concept

Expressionism is a literary and artistic trend that was born in the German territory at the beginning of the 20th century , whose principles are based on expressing emotions instead of trying to capture reality.This movement is a reaction to impressionism , which aims to represent the impression that the real produces in sight.

It can be said that expressionism is a way of understanding art .Painters, writers, photographers, choreographers, filmmakers and musicians, among other artists, embraced expressionism and turned to manifestations where The inner vision of the creator stands out.

For expressionism, the important thing is the subjective expression of what one feels and does not describe reality objectively.In fact, his works sometimes constitute a distortion of the real plane.

The defense of individual freedom, the interest in themes that are considered tabu and the predominance of passion and emotion are some of the pillars of expressionism, which encompasses various styles.

Edvard Munch , Vasili Kandinski , Paul Klee and Amedeo Modigliani are some of the artists that are often mentioned as referents of expressionism since their works express feelings and are not limited to representing what the senses reflect.

It should be noted that, according to specialists, features of expressionism could already be observed in painters who lived before the 20th century , such as El Bosco (1450-1516 ), El Greco (1541-1614) and Francisco de Goya (1746-1828).After the World War II , the movement was disappearing as such, although its influence extended to neo-expressionism, abstract expressionism and other trends .

Let's see below some of the characteristics of expressionism:

* subjectivity : In general, when we talk about expressionism, we think of a deformation of reality in order to reflect the subjectivity of the human being.a faithful copy of reality or an "impression" of it, just as it happens in impressionism, since it proposes to look beyond the outer layer;

* historical context : it is important to understand that expressionism arose along the so-called Historical Vanguards , at the beginning of the 20th century and before the First was unleashed World War: It was then that a rejection began to spread through positivist philosophy (which relied on the advances and progress of science to lead society), and this was reflected in a pessimistic attitude and a loss of values ​​ that can be clearly seen through expressionism;

* style : although the aesthetics that can be seen in the works of the different artists that represent expressionism are very varied, something that remained firm from the beginning is the predominance of subjectivity over other factors that interested the Impressionists, such as being close to reality and the harmony of their forms.the differences between the artists reside precisely In which each one sought to capture his own vision, his unique way of seeing the scenes he painted on the canvas;

* ambito : although the expressionism occurred in several artistic disciplines, its emergence took place in the painting, and it was in that framework where it was most developed.Among the most outstanding pictorial resources of the The first examples of expressionism are sensations, dynamism and color.The beginnings of expressionism were lived with great energy, since their representatives did their best to disseminate this new current , taking their expositions to several cities and, over time, crossing the borders of their own countries;

* architecture : as well as painting, architecture also had its way through expressionism, and this happened especially in Germany, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Czechoslovakia and Austria.