Intro To Expressionism

7/29/2019 Intro To Expressionism

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Claude Monet : Impression Sunrise C.1872

The focus is on creating the mood of being there

Edvard Munch: The Scream (1893)

The painting depicts raw, primitive

emotionthe feeling of a scream

Expressionism is very different from Impressionism


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Expressionist painters were

influenced by the paintings of Van

Gogh, who used bright, unreal

colours, for expressive reasons.


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Expressionist artists also used German and Nordic folk myths and art

techniques, of the European Middle Ages, of between 10001453.

These produced by carving images on wood, the wood is inked andpressed onto paper. This prints rough images with very strong, strange

angles.

They also used art techniques and ideas of non-European art, such as

African and Asian arts.

Wounded Soldiers

(1915), Heckel oSchmidt-Rottluff.


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The First World War was an obvious

influence on expressionist art.


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http://www.abcgallery.com/G/grosz/grosz.html

Georges Grosz was

one of the greatestexpressionist artists.

George Grosz John the Sex M urderer. 1918
http://www.abcgallery.com/G/grosz/grosz.htmlhttp://www.abcgallery.com/G/grosz/grosz.html


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Expressionist artists wanted to paint very strong emotions,

sometimes crazy emotions, more than real objects as we see

them in the world. They wanted to paint wild emotions and theworld of dreams.


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Some expressionists argued that real life was not clearly logical. They argued

that because of this, the images of realist arts were not true to life.
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=6QN-u3iWomZMSM&tbnid=Jyy612OFw2Y8GM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fsopranosimage.tripod.com%2Fnosferatu%2F&ei=98KtUbTxIOHG0QWpjYCADQ&psig=AFQjCNHBuTOq8A0mvaBuAclUemvN0Z1_jg&ust=1370428530697746


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The expressionists argued that as

real life was contradictory, then the

arts need to be contradictory toreveal that too; that they needed to

represent a contradictory, alienated

and insane world.
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=l07nRRO2vq_cEM&tbnid=oW_Ox2LxMrg-4M:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Frobsmovievault.wordpress.com%2F1927%2F01%2F10%2Fmetropolis%2F&ei=ZsOtUdGmAuXI0AWojYHoDg&psig=AFQjCNGC5SwDxWJMwzh7ViInUH0LF99x1Q&ust=1370428636047473


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The expressionists pointed to the contradiction of Western Europe

claiming to be civilised and yet to be sending millions to war and death in

WWI.

To allow us to see this sort of insanity, and to understand the true natureof humans and the true social world, art would need to be the same.

Art would need to present the world and human emotions and

understandings in the same way: contradictory and irrational to

represent human reality and the human condition.


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Key features of Expressionism:

Expressionist artist used strong emotional colours and wild

brush strokes. The stressed irrationality of the world, the natural and the

social world

The world of the supernatural was a strong influence, of

ghosts, magic, monsters, strange things happening, to mythictales, etc.

Individual alienation from the natural world and from the

social worldThe individual does not feel like they belong

in either the social world or the natural world and are alone

and abandoned.

The impact of industrial, capitalist society on human beings.


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Expressionists used

darkness and shadow to

give their films a stronger

feeling offear, and anxiety.

We can see this in the stills,

from Murnaus Nosferatu

Nosferatu


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Cities and buildings do no look like they provide a safe environment for

people, but they look like they are going to collapse. By this method the

world looks out of the individuals control.

Note the odd use of camera perspective in the image below fromMetropolis:


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The specific influences of Expressionism on films are:

The influence Expressionist painting can be seen in the way the film

set was painted and built.There is a strong use of darkness and light, especially of shadow.

There is also use of strange angles in making Expressionist cinema,

strange camera perspectives.

The story is sometimes taken from Gothic myth, the 14th century,

e.g., Caligari, Dracula, ghosts.

The supernatural has a very strong place in the film.

There is the appearance of irrationality, in the world, in the people,

and in the story.

Emotions are strongly expressed.The film and the world appear to be insane.

An insane world is not a place where there is a happy ending.

Intro To Expressionism

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