A bit about German Expressionism - art that has influenced my painting style
I have a penchant for the work of the German Expressionists and they have influenced my style.
Expressionism is a style of painting, music or drama in which the artist or writer seeks to express the inner world of emotion rather than external reality. It has been said that the German Expressionists were uneasy and angry, railing against Christian and bourgeois values as much as rampant urban industrialisation.
Expressionism originated in Germany as an avant-garde style before the First World War. Around 1912 a group of artists including Edward Munch, Wassily Kandinsky, Ernst Krichner, Paul Klee, Egan Schiele and Marx Chagall were leaders in the movement.
While German Expressionism followed hard on the heels of the Fauve Movement (a major influence for me), the actual roots of the German expressionists lay in the works of Van Gogh and Munch. They used colour and line to make their work dramatic .
Bold dramatic and different.
I’m just about to start a 1.2 metre square painting for my 'Art in the Garden' exhibition on Sunday November 24th for the Rotary Cambridge Garden Festival. I'm looking forward to seeing what it looks like when it is finished.
The paintings above are from Emil Nolde and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner - two different but influential styles. I particularly love the colour and boldness of the images.