Art Movement: Expressionism

The German expressionist movement began at the turn of the century and into the early decades of the 20th century. It happened largely to portray the emotions, tragedies, and ideals circulating the world in a time of war. These works were often were often very dramatic, using sharp lines and loud uses of color and form. Common themes in expressionist works had to do with fear and anxiety, the horrors of war, and the shifting views on politics, spirituality, and sexuality of humans. It got its inspiration from other similarly inspired movements such as post-impressionism, cubism, and symbolism.

Käthe Kollwitz, one of the most famous and influential artists to emerge from the German expressionist movement, used her works to display her feelings on the horrendousness of war and the human experience. She never used any color in her work, letting the carvings and printings speak for themselves. Holly Berry is a contemporary artist and book illustrator from Maine. Much like Käthe, she uses her art to tell stories and evoke emotions within them. She uses similar techniques in carving and printing her works, but many of hers are in color and tend to be a bit softer than Käthe's.

Island Scene 3 by Holly Berry

Die Mütter by Käthe Kollwitz

These two works are similar in that they are both black and white pieces created with striking use of lines. Both of them are fairly simple in shading, and use thickness, direction, and amount of lines to create depth and design. They also both use a large amount of contrast. Island Scene 3 uses more straight lines than Die Mütter, and the lines are thicker and farther apart. The subjects are also very different, Island Scene 3 being a calmer picture of a small cottage and garden contrasts greatly with the emotional scene of Die Mütter that features a large group of people huddling together.