Expressionism's Origins, Key Figures, and Historical Persecution

Expressionism became a significant art movement that built on Post-Impressionist concepts, featuring prominent figures like Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Wassily Kandinsky, and Franz Marc, among others. Influences came from earlier artists such as Edvard Munch, who remained categorized as a Post-Impressionist and Symbolist. While the movement is often marked from around 1913, some trace its roots back to 1910 when art historian Antonín Matejček introduced the term. Key groups like Die Brücke, established in 1905 by Kirchner and peers in Dresden, and Der Blaue Reiter, formed in Munich in 1911 by Kandinsky and others, played vital roles. Expressionism aimed to express deep emotions through distorted shapes and vivid colors. The Nazi regime condemned the movement as 'degenerate art,' seizing over 600 works by Kirchner in 1937 and staging a negative exhibition that resulted in the destruction or sale of many pieces. A 1992 exhibit in Berlin sought to reunite these dispersed works. The movement eventually influenced Abstract Expressionism in the US, which flourished under Jackson Pollock from 1943 until 1970. Notable works include Munch's 'The Scream' (from 1893-1895) and pieces in collections such as the National Gallery in Oslo and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.