Beatriz de la torre - EXPRESSIONISM

The ism I would love to be is probably expressionism because I am usually very easy to read and I like to show my feelings as they are, like if I'm angry or happy or stressed or scared or nervous... I always say what I think and how I feel and also, I tend to overreact to certain situations and I usually make them bigger than they are... so that's why I think I'm very similar to this art movement.

EXPRESSIONISM: this term is used when talking about distortion and exaggeration for emotional effect, it first came up in the art literature of the early 20th century. When applied in a stylistic sense, it refers to the use of intense colors, agitated brushstrokes and disjointed space.

Expressionism is an artistic style in which the artist attempts to depict not objective reality but rather the subjective emotions and responses that objects and events arouse in him. He accomplishes his aim through distortion, exaggeration, primitivism, and fantasy and through the vivid, jarring, violent, or dynamic application of formal elements. So this is what I was saying, that the artist usually expresses his or her emotional way of seeing things, exaggerating them.

Expressionism assessed itself mostly in Germany, in 1910. As an international movement, expressionism has also been thought of as inheriting from certain medieval artforms and, more directly, Cézanne, Gauguin, Van Gogh and the fauvism movement.

Edvard Munch, 1921
Musée d'Orsay, Paris

Probably one of the most famous works of art from this movement is "The Scream" by Edvard Munch.

The Scream, 1893

Tempera and pastel on board

91 x 73.5 cm

I like this painting because it expresses freely the feelings of the artist. There is another painting I like better than this one and I read that it is considered part of the expressionist movement:

View of Toledo, 1596-1600

 

 It was painted by El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos). He was a famous painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish renaissance period. 

The View of Toledo is also known as Toledo in a Storm, because of the dramatic lightening effects of the sky. The reconfiguration of the city monuments and the dramatic and expressionistic style of his painting clearly indicate that El Greco (The Greek) did not belong to any conventional school of artistic thought. Considered as a precursor of both the Cubism and Expressionism movements. 



Sources:
*Art Movements. "Expressionism" nd. Web. Accessed on october 23, 2010.
*Edvard Munch. The Dance of Life Site. "Gallery: anxiety paintings". 2005. Web. Accessed on october 23, 2010.
*Oil paintings reproductions. "View of Toledo" nd. Web. Accessed on october 23, 2010.