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Expressionist Figurative Paintings

EXPRESSIONIST STYLE

While “expressionist” is used to describe any art that avoids naturalism and instead employs a bold use of flattened forms and intense brushwork, Expressionist art formally describes early-20th-century work from Europe that drew on Symbolism and confronted issues such as urbanization and capitalism. Expressionist artists experimented in paintings and prints with skewed perspectives, abstraction and unconventional, bright colors to portray how isolating and anxious the world felt rather than how it appeared. 

Between 1905 and 1920, Austrian and German artists, in particular, were inspired by Postimpressionists such as Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh in their efforts to strive for a new authenticity in their work. In its geometric patterns and decorative details, Expressionist art was also marked by eclectic sources like German and Russian folk art as well as tribal art from Africa and Oceania, which the movement’s practitioners witnessed at museums and world’s fairs.

Groups of artists came together to share and promote the themes now associated with Expressionism, such as Die Brücke (The Bridge) in Dresden, which included Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and investigated alienation and the dissolution of society in vivid color. In Munich, Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider), a group led by Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc, instilled Expressionism with a search for spiritual truths. In his iconic painting The Scream, prolific Norwegian painter Edvard Munch conveyed emotional turmoil through his depiction of environmental elements, such as the threatening sky.

Expressionism shifted around the outbreak of World War I, with artists using more elements of the grotesque in reaction to the escalation of unrest and violence. Printmaking was especially popular, as it allowed artists to widely disseminate works that grappled with social and political issues amid this time of upheaval. Although the art movement ended with the rise of Nazi Germany, where Expressionist creators were labeled “degenerate,” the radical ideas of these artists would influence Neo-Expressionism that emerged in the late 1970s with painters like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Francesco Clemente.

​​Find a collection of authentic Expressionist paintings, sculptures, prints and more art on 1stDibs.

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Style: Expressionist
Red Portrait, Painting, Acrylic on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
My work is about dealing with the real world and above all using the images that surround us in everyday life. I often search for the unexpected. An ironic turn to images or things y...
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Green general, Painting, Acrylic on Paper
Located in Yardley, PA
My work is about dealing with the real world and above all using the images that surround us in everyday life. I often search for the unexpected. An ironic turn to images or things y...
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

PRIVATE CONCERT ON THE SQUARE
Located in Aventura, FL
Original oil on canvas painting. Hand signed on front; signed and titled on verso by the artist. Canvas size 24 x 36 in. Framed. Artwork is in excellent condition. Certificate of a...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

MIDNIGHT SILHOUETTE
Located in Aventura, FL
Original oil on canvas painting. Hand signed on front; signed and titled on verso by the artist. Canvas size 24 x 12 inches. Frame size is approx 35.5 x 23.5 inches. Artwork is i...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

He brought the dawn in its wake Timothy Archer 21st Century Contemporary paint
Located in Paris, FR
Oil paint and pastel on paper Signed and dated lower right
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paper, Oil Pastel, Oil

"Swimmers" Vibrant Expressionist Figurative Scene
Located in Austin, TX
Pep Suari 14.75" x 40" Acrylic on Board
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic, Board

A small picodon ? Julien Wolf Contemporary Expressionist Painting
Located in Paris, FR
Oil on canvas 2017 Signed Unique work Julien Wolf is a French painter born in 1981 in Strasbourg, France. In 2007, he graduated from the DNSEP Art section at the Strasbourg Decora...
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

PAUL MAAS Les Vacances 1958 Family at the Beach Large Expressionist Oil Painting
By Paul Maas
Located in Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Provenance: Collection of the Artist Collection of Mr. & Mrs. Robert Warner, Washington, Connecticut Collection of the Washington Art Association, Inc. Private Collection, California...
Category

1950s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Mobile hyperlaxity-Julien Wolf, 21st Century, Contemporary Expressionist Drawing
Located in Paris, FR
Oilbar and charcoal on paper 2020 Signed Unique work Julien Wolf is a French painter born in 1981 in Strasbourg, France. In 2007, he graduated from the DNSEP Art section at the St...
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paper, Charcoal, Oil Pastel

Gloutorama - Julien Wolf, 21st Century, Contemporary Expressionist Drawing
Located in Paris, FR
Pastel and charcoal on paper 2020 Signed Unique work Julien Wolf is a French painter born in 1981 in Strasbourg, France. In 2007, he graduated from the DNSEP Art section at the St...
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paper, Charcoal, Oil Pastel

Fisherman
Located in Austin, TX
By Pep Suari 39" x 39" Acrylic on Canvas
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Cats and a Woman
Located in Austin, TX
By Pep Suari 39" x 39" Acrylic on Canvas
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Mister Universe - Julien Wolf, 21st Century, Contemporary Expressionist Painting
Located in Paris, FR
Oil on canvas 2019 Signed Unique work Julien Wolf is a French painter born in 1981 in Strasbourg, France. In 2007, he graduated from the DNSEP Art section at the Strasbourg Decora...
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Dusk in the Garden - Greenwich Village - Moody Monochromatic - Whitney Museum
Located in Miami, FL
The setting reminds us of a Rear Window by Alfred Hickcock but Evergood did it 8 years before. It's most likely Greenwich Village since Evergood lived there. This is a very big and heavy to lift painting Signed lower left Framed 56 x 51 in a period very heavy rustic wood frame. Exhibited Center Gallery, Bucknell University, PA, among others venus. gallery label remnants on verso - The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis The Whitney Museum of American Art Annual 1949 - Label Provenance: Naomi and Walter Rosenblum Best Viewed with a top gallery light...
Category

1940s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Untitled, Boy Eating Watermelon
Located in Miami, FL
The work looks much better in person with snappy bright colors that form a complex abstract composition of interconnected shapes. Hand-signed by artist, sticker label, The Work is Signed lower left - Provenance: Forum Gallery, New York - Label on verso Swann Gallery...
Category

1960s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Geez ! - Julien Wolf, 21st Century, Contemporary Expressionist Painting
Located in Paris, FR
Oil on canvas 2019 Signed Unique work Julien Wolf is a French painter who was born in Strasbourg in 1981, France. He graduated in 2007 at the DNSEP Art and Decorative Art section...
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Poultry Seller - Jewish School of Paris
Located in London, GB
This oil painting is hand signed by the artist "I. Ryback" in the lower left corner. This painting was created in the early 1930's Provenance: The authenticity of this work has been...
Category

1930s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Patrick s cave - Julien Wolf, 21st Century, Contemporary Expressionist Drawing
Located in Paris, FR
Oil pastel, India ink and charcoal on paper 2020 Signed Unique work Julien Wolf is a French painter born in 1981 in Strasbourg, France. In 2007, he graduated from the DNSEP Art se...
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paper, Charcoal, Oil Pastel, India Ink

Match point - Julien Wolf, 21st Century, Contemporary figurative painting
Located in Paris, FR
Oil on canvas Signed Unique work
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

French Contemporary Art by Sandra Detourbet - Promise Indécise
Located in Paris, IDF
Ink on canvas & handmade paper Sandra Detourbet is a French artist born in 1967 who works & lives in Ivry-sur-Seine, near Paris. She is graduated in 1997 from ENSAD in Paris, Art-Sp...
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Handmade Paper, Ink

Is the sun burning your retina ?Julien Wolf, Contemporary Expressionist painting
Located in Paris, FR
Oil on canvas 2018 Signed Unique work Julien Wolf is a French painter born in 1981 in Strasbourg, France. In 2007, he graduated from the DNSEP Art section at the Strasbourg Decora...
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

From here 2 hours and a half wait! Julien Wolf Contemporary Expressionist Paint
Located in Paris, FR
Oil on canvas 2018 Signed Unique work Julien Wolf is a French painter born in 1981 in Strasbourg, France. In 2007, he graduated from the DNSEP Art section at the Strasbourg Decora...
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Portrait with Pearl Necklace
Located in Wien, 9
Deling with the work of Erich Waske today, one encounters first of all a number of reasons why this outstanding artist has fallen into such undeserved oblivion. In addition to the de...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

"Farmer" Portrait Oil Painting 16" x 12" inch by Shaaban Zaki
Located in Culver City, CA
"Farmer" Portrait Oil Painting 16" x 12" inch by Shaaban Zaki circa 1930 Signed. Shaaban Zaki came from a lower-middle-class family who was mostly government employees, but he was...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Wood, Oil

Sur Un Coin De Lune
Located in Atlanta, GA
Jean-Louis Mendrisse is a self-taught painter born in 1955 in Clermont-Ferrand. Art, family affairs Jean-Louis Mendrisse studied the deal with his famous sculptor father, Jean Mos...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Les deux amours punis
Located in Atlanta, GA
Gustave Doyen (1836 in Festieux – 1923 in Fontainebleau) was a French painter working during 19th and 20th centuries in France. He was educated at St Edmund's College in Douai and trained by William...
Category

19th Century Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

La Chemin de la Croix
Located in Atlanta, GA
Jean-Louis Mendrisse is a self-taught painter born in 1955 in Clermont-Ferrand. Art, family affairs Jean-Louis Mendrisse studied the deal with his famous sculptor father, Jean Mos...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Les Ombres
Located in Atlanta, GA
Born in 1951, François Legrand was introduced to painting as a teenager by Philippe Lejeune in Etampes. In 1973, he moved to Loiret. From 1974 to 197...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Samedi Soir Chez Chloé
Located in Atlanta, GA
Jean-Louis Mendrisse is a self-taught painter born in 1955 in Clermont-Ferrand. Art, family affairs Jean-Louis Mendrisse studied the deal with his famous sculptor father, Jean Mos...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Le Temps Pas
Located in Atlanta, GA
Jean-Louis Mendrisse is a self-taught painter born in 1955 in Clermont-Ferrand. Art, family affairs Jean-Louis Mendrisse studied the deal with his famous sculptor father, Jean Mos...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Ensemble
Located in Atlanta, GA
Jean-Louis Mendrisse is a self-taught painter born in 1955 in Clermont-Ferrand. Art, family affairs Jean-Louis Mendrisse studied the deal with his famous sculptor father, Jean Mos...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Le Tombeau de Cyrus, 2018
Located in Atlanta, GA
Born August 4, 1945 in Chambéry. Apprenticeship in 1984 at the Etampes school founded and run by the painter Philipe Lejeune. -Price "Finez Planard" awarded by the Taylor Foundation...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Behind Palace Walls Huge Original Painting by Listed Artist Jasmin Aldin
Located in Belleville, CA
Bold, Bright, Bursting with Color! Original, One of a Kind Painting, Acrylic on Canvas by Canadian Artist Jasmin Aldin. Date of Creation: 2011 Medium: Acrylic on gallery wrap Canva...
Category

Early 2000s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Vide Médian
Located in Miami, FL
Evelyne Ballestra's work with signs, symbols and esoteric spirituality reflects her passion for the ancient past and represents a symbolic return to the ground from which we emerged....
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Emotional
Located in Rye, NY
‘Emotional’ is a large expressionist figurative oil on canvas painting of vertical format created by Vietnamese artist La Ba Quan in 2011. Featuring a palette made of grey, brown, bl...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Emotional
Emotional
$2,880 Sale Price
20% Off
Terrace Theater - Julien Wolf, 21st Century, Contemporary Expressionist Drawing
Located in Paris, FR
Oilbar and charcoal on paper 2020 Signed Unique work Julien Wolf is a French painter born in 1981 in Strasbourg, France. In 2007, he graduated from the DNSEP Art section at the St...
Category

2010s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paper, Charcoal, Oil Pastel

Convoitise
Located in Atlanta, GA
Jean-Louis Mendrisse is a self-taught painter born in 1955 in Clermont-Ferrand. Art, family affairs Jean-Louis Mendrisse studied the deal with his famous sculptor father, Jean Mos...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Tea at Chateau de Madrid - Modernist Figurative Oil by Anne Estelle Rice
Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Signed and titled oil on panel figures in landscape by American painter Anne Estelle Rice. This beautiful and colourful piece depicts groups of elegantly dressed people enjoying tea ...
Category

1910s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Picador
Located in New York, NY
During the artists carrier he only painted 2 Picador's of this size for the exhibition at Galerie Maurice Garnier, in Paris France, who was his dealer at the time. Shortly after the ...
Category

1970s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

"The Kunafeh Merchant" Oil Painting 27" x 31" inch (1960) by Youssef Sida
Located in Culver City, CA
"The Kunafeh Merchant" Oil Painting 27" x 31" inch (1960) by Youssef Sida Signed and dated 1960 Youssef Sida 1922-1994 Born in 1922 in Damietta, and in ...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood

Du Fond de Ce Voyage ou Les Pierres Me Parlent
Located in Long Island City, NY
Theo Tobiasse's Expressionist painting of several Jewish men in traditional clothing features the artist's signature use of bold colors and emotive forms. Artist: Theo Tobiasse Tit...
Category

1980s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Masquerade by Jean Jansem
Located in La Canada Flintridge, CA
The Masquerade, oil painting signed lower right JANSEM. The painting size is 38"x51" with framed (original frame) size 47"x60". Excellent in condition. From 1934 – 1936 he attended ...
Category

1970s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

"Immaculate Perception" Two Abstract Skulls on a Red Field
By Breyten Breytenbach
Located in Houston, TX
Expressionist painting of two abstract skulls in flowers on a field of red. Framed in a white frame with a white matte. Painting was newly framed. Dime...
Category

1960s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Jean Carzou, L etang, 21.5x26 inches, oil on canvas, 1991
Located in La Canada Flintridge, CA
Jean Carzou, L'etang, 21.5x26 inches, oil on canvas, 1991 LIST OF MUSEUMS WITH WORKS BY JEAN CARZOU Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris Musée d’Art Moder...
Category

20th Century Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

The Crystal Ball
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Noted German Expressionist artist Fritz Schwaderer(1901-1974), , was classically schooled in fine art in Germany in the early-mid 1920as. ...
Category

1950s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil

Repose #1
Located in West Hollywood, CA
We are proud to premier for the first time in more than twenty years, the paintings of Austrian/American artist Gustav Rehberger (1910–1995). ...
Category

1970s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media

Repose #3
Located in West Hollywood, CA
We are proud to premier for the first time in more than twenty years, the paintings of Austrian/American artist Gustav Rehberger (1910–1995). ...
Category

1970s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Repose #2
Located in West Hollywood, CA
We are proud to premier for the first time in more than twenty years, the paintings of Austrian/American artist Gustav Rehberger (1910–1995). ...
Category

1970s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media

Devotion and Love
Located in West Hollywood, CA
An original oil on canvas by American artist Darren LeGallo. “Devotion and Love”, was exhibited in our recent premiere solo exhibition of American artist Darren LeGallo, “Darren LeGa...
Category

Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Shadows
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Presenting an original mixed media watercolor by Hungarian artist Bela Kadar. Bela Kadar was a historically important artist, is work was included as part of the degenerate art movement of Nazi Germany. His works appeared illustrated in the famous German arts magazine Der Sturm...
Category

1920s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Gouache

The Accordionist
Located in West Hollywood, CA
An exceptional original watercolor by American artist Byron Randall. "The Accordionist", is an original watercolor on heavy paper, signed, c.1945, ...
Category

1940s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Watercolor

Margit
By Otto Tetjus Tugel
Located in West Hollywood, CA
Presenting a rare oil on panel by German artist Otto Tugel. Otto Tugel worked in Germany before settling in New York. This is an early oil on panel, signed in monogram, dated 1925.
Category

1920s Expressionist Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Expressionist figurative paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Expressionist figurative paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. If you’re looking to add figurative paintings created in this style to introduce contrast in an otherwise neutral space in your home, the works available on 1stDibs include elements of blue, purple, orange, red and other colors. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Evelyne Ballestra, Julien Wolf, Stephen Basso, and Bernard Harmon. Frequently made by artists working with Paint, and Oil Paint and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Expressionist figurative paintings, so small editions measuring 1 inches across are also available.

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