expressionism in art

Expressionism in Art

Reproductions of Edward Munch's depiction of a primal, horrified scream adorn dormitory rooms all over the nation, as well as the covers of numerous books on depression and human suffering. This expressionist work seems to encapsulate in its swirling lines some of the deepest human feelings and associations of misery. The painting is a palate of dark, somber colors. At the center of the work lurks a figure that looks not unlike a human skull. It is as if a representation of the common humanity we all share has been stripped bare, and rendered to its most basic essence of suffering. The figure is not a skeleton per se, it merely suggests a skeleton -- a haunting, spectral ghost, or simply an emaciated figure that is miserable and screaming in a chaotic swirl of dim shades of mist.

The work depicts no narrative; the figure is given no unique characterization, social location, or identity. There is no symbolic indication of why the figure is so unhappy, the painter assumes that the gazer knows why there is a reason to scream about the nature of life. There is no clear background except for the spirals of color, yet the figure seems like it could be anyone or is every person, because the emotion conveyed is so commonly felt.

Vincent Van Gough's "Starry Night" likewise takes the form of swirls of colors to show the radiant light of the stars. A night sky is a common subject for art, but because of Van Gough's artistry and the intense emotion the artist puts into his work, the night becomes like a kind of template for how Van Gough feels about the world in a particular fashion. Unlike Munch, the work is unique, the gazer does not feel 'that is how I see the world sometimes' but is instead startled by the artist's originality. The stars seem to have individual characteristics and personalities. The clouds look as though they are caressing the stars or the sky, and furl out almost like human breath. Their cool colors make a striking contrast with the hotter, fiery sun-like stars.

The work does not depict the human form or an emotional scene, but the artist's emotion is palpably present in the landscape. A desolate, lonely tree stands in the foreground. Although it is closest to the viewer it is the least distinct of all of the representational objects of the work. It seems to point like a finger to the sky. The human presence is everywhere in this work, even though the human form is absent, and every element of the sky is clearly from a particular point-of-view.