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Expressionist Portrait Photography

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
"No Title" Still Searching For The Title Two, Giclee Print, Color Photography
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Still Searching For The Title / No Title 2 / Photograph Creator: Hatice Besun Creation year: 2022 Dimension: 19 x 13 External Dimension( with white border) Height:19.8 inch Width:13...
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2010s Expressionist Portrait Photography

Materials

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Contemporary abstract expressionist vivid acrylic portrait on paper "True self"
Located in VÉNISSIEUX, FR
This contemporary expressionist, figurative abstract portrait was created by French artist Natalya Mougenot as part of her ongoing series devoted to the human face—not just as a like...
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2010s Expressionist Portrait Photography

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Skid Row Bowery Street Portrait - The Streets of New York - Photojournalism
Located in Miami, FL
Street Photographer Mitchell Funk breaks with tradition and shoots street photography in color. Today in 2022, this does not seem like a big deal. But 52 years ago, in 1970, it was q...
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1970s Expressionist Portrait Photography

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Peacock displaying in Magenta and Yellow Birds
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The reality is that this is an eye-witness account of a male peacock displaying for the attention of a female peahen. It turns out that humans are equally...
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2010s Expressionist Portrait Photography

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Expressionist portrait photography for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Expressionist portrait photography available for sale on 1stDibs. Not every interior allows for large Expressionist portrait photography, so small editions measuring 10.5 inches across are also available. Prices for portrait photography made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,125 and tops out at $7,000, while the average work sells for $5,000.