Expressionism

Expressionism emerged simultaneously in various cities across Germany as a response to widespread anxiety over the increasingly discordant relationship of humanity with the world, and to accompanying feelings of the loss of authenticity and spirituality. Desiring to express attitudes, feelings, and emotions, Expressionist artists created vivid imagery, encouraging the distortion of form and the deployment of strong colours to convey anxiety and yearning. Expressionist artists often employed swirling, swaying, and exaggeratedly executed brushstrokes in the depiction of their subjects. These techniques were meant to convey the turgid emotional state of the artist reacting to the turmoil of the modern world.