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When speaking on buying paintings of the Expressionist movement, it is always a good idea to review what elements make Expressionism unique, and to gain an understanding of some of the artists representative of this particular artistic movement.  The agreed upon intention of Expressionist artwork is not reproduce a subject accurately, but to instead portray the inner state of the artist, with a tendency to distort reality for an emotional effect.  The movement is closely associated with its’ beginnings in Germany, and has a few different but overlapping schools of thought within.

The term Expressionism was first used to describe the movement in the magazine produced in 1911 called “Der Sturm”, and was usually linked to paintings and graphic work that challenged academic traditions at the time.  The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche later helped to define the area of modern expressionism better by clarifying the movement’s links to ancient art before any more modern interpretation had, and applied his own unique philosophy to the movement.  He has been quoted stating that disordered and ordered elements are present in all works of art, but that the basic traits of Expressionism lay in the mainly disordered aspects.

The Expressionist point of view was usually conveyed through the use of bold colors, distorted forms, and a lack of perspective.  Generally, a piece of expressionistic art is one that is expressive of intense emotion, and much of this kind of artwork occurs during times of social upheaval.  Though it can be argued that an artist is expressive by nature, and that all artwork is truly expressionist, there are many who consider the movement particularly communicative of emotion.  Later on, artists like Kandinsky changed 20th century Expressionist work through the formation of Abstract Expressionism.

The art historian Antonín Matějček was elemental in coining the term as the opposite to the Impressionist movement as well, and though Expressionism seems well defined as an artistic movement, there have never been a group of artists that called themselves Expressionists.  The movement was primarily German and Austrian, and many of the different groups of thought were based around Germany at the time.  Another artistic movement that heavily influenced Expressionism was Fauvism.  This kind of artwork is characterized by primitive, less naturalistic forms, and includes the works of famed painters Paul Gauguin and Henri Matisse.

With this influence firmly in place, Expressionism grew into striking compositions that focused on representing emotional reactions through powerful use of color and dynamic approaches with subject matter, and seemed to counter the qualities centered on by the French Impressionism of the time.  Where French Impressionism was to seek rendering the visual appearance of objects, Expressionism became an opposing movement seeking to capture emotions and subjective interpretation, and it was not important to reproduce a visually pleasing interpretation of the matter that the painting represented.

Expressionism has crossed over into many differing fields of artistic vision, with sculpture and filmmaking being primary examples today, and have influenced many people throughout the course of its’ existence as a movement in art.  These visions have combined over time to create the comprehensive idea of what Expressionism has become, and many people have found this type of art very appealing and eye-catching.  Throughout this century, much Expressionistic artwork has come to be representative of what art can come to be, and many people have been influenced by this very emotional artwork.

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Surrealism, born in the 1920′s, was parented by the Dada movement that emerged in Paris during War World I.  Born of writing and visual arts, Surrealism was a cultural movement that merged schools of thought on politics, philosophy and social theory.  Salvador Dali was a flamboyant surrealist who made significant artistic contributions to the movement.

Temptation of Saint Anthony
One of his later works, Dali claimed that he had converted to mysticism.  The Atomic era influenced his thinking and is manifested in this painting.  The naked Antonius stands against a charging horse with elongated legs that defy the law of gravity.  Saint Anthony attempts to steel himself against earthy temptations.  Floating elephants move towards the saint symbolizing lust and greed.

Portrait of Picasso
Dali incorporated all elements that spoke to the origins of Picasso.  In this painting, the bust of Picasso is mounted atop a  pedestal, symbolizing consecration.  A large rock rests on Picasso’s head symbolizing the impact and influence of his work.  Picasso’s face is depicted as a goat hoof and the headdress of the bust of Lacy of Elche which pays tribute to Picasso’s birthplace.

Self-Portrait with Fried Bacon Surrealism Statue
An ode to Dali’s “soul’s glove”, not the soul or the inner self, this self-portrait portrays his face with ants and fried bacon.  It was a work painted during Dali’s eight-year-exile in the U.S.  He fled Spain during the Spanish Civil War.  During this time Dali claimed that his works were painted from the inside out, and it appeared that he did a reversal on  his “paranoid-critical method.”  This painting symbolizes the artist giving himself up as food, and giving the era the most “delicious delicacies.”

Geopolitical Child Watches Birth of New Human
Depicting a fiery earth, a new human is born and emerges from a plastic egg while a child watches seeking the protection of its mother; it symbolizes new order, a fresh start and a world without flaws.  

Poetry of America Cosmic Athletes
Challenging man to think about the perils of war within the modern world, this painting symbolizes the new human with a golden man balancing an egg on his finger.  The juxtaposition of the commonplace and fantastic again emphasizes Dali’s paranoid-critical method, a subconscious association of those things that are not related in the real world.

Burning Giraffe Woman with Drawers
This painting signifies Dali’s internal struggles with his country during his exile from Spain amidst the Spanish Civil War.  Open drawers line the leg of a slender blue female form with outstretched arms, believed to represent the “open drawers” of man’s subconscious.

Dream Caused Flight of a Bee
This painting is of Dali’s wife, Gala unclothed and asleep.  With slender legs, an elephant walks across the a watery horizon carrying an obelisk.  Near her body, two drops of water and a small pomegranate float.  Above a larger pomegranate, a fish emerges that holds a tiger in its mouth from which another tiger comes out.  Ahead of the second tiger, a rifle’s bayonet touches the women’s right arm.  The work shows the influence of Freud’s theories on the meanings of dreams and some believe is an interpretation of the Theory of Evolution.

Surrealism, [born in the 1920’s|a trend that began in the 1920s], was [parented by|part of|initiated by] the Dada movement that [emerged|came to life] in Paris during [War World I|the first World War].  [Inspired by|Born of] [visual art and writings|writing and visual arts], Surrealism was a cultural movement that [incorporated|merged] schools of thought on [politics, philosophy and social theory|philosophy, social theory and politics].  Salvador Dali was a [flamboyant|eccentric|colorful] surrealist who [contributed artistically|made significant artistic contributions] to the movement.

Temptation of Saint Anthony
A work from the latter period of his life, Dali made claims that he had converted to mysticism.  The Atomic era invaded his thinking and is manifested in this painting.  A depiction of a naked Antonius wards off a mounted horse with long legs that defy the law of gravity.  Saint Anthony attempts to steel himself against earthy temptations.  Symbolizing lust and greed, floang elephants approach on outsized, thin legs.

Portrait of Picasso
Dali incorporated all elements that spoke to the origins of the artist Picasso.  In this painting, the bust of Picasso is mounted atop a  pedestal, a symbol of consecration.  A large rock rests on Picasso’s head symbolizing the responsibility and influence of his work.  Picasso’s face is a goat hoof and the headdress of the bust of Lacy of Elche which pays tribute to Picasso’s origins.

Self-Portrait with Fried Bacon Surrealism Statue
An ode to Dali’s “soul’s glove”, not the soul or the inner self, this self-portrait portrays his face with ants and fried bacon.  It was created during Dali’s eight-year-exile in the United States  He fled Spain during the Spanish Civil War.  During this time Dali claimed that his works were painted from the inside out, and it appeared that he did a reversal on  his “paranoid-critical method.”  This painting symbolizes the artist giving himself up as food, providing in his own words the most “delicious delicacies.”

Geopolitical Child Watches Birth of New Human
In this work Dali creates a fiery Earth, a new human is born and is emerging from a plastic egg while a child watches seeking the protection of its mother; it symbolizes the evolution of order, a fresh start and a world without flaws.  

Poetry of America Cosmic Athletes
Asking mankind to think about the dangers of conflicts within the modern world, this painting symbolizes the new human with a golden man balancing an egg on his finger.  The juxtaposition of the commonplace and fantastic again emphasizes Dali’s paranoid-critical method, a subconscious association of those things that are not related in the real world.

Burning Giraffe Woman with Drawers
This painting speaks to Dali’s internal struggles with his country during his exile from Spain amidst the Spanish Civil War.  Open drawers line the leg of a gaunt blue female form with extended arms, believed to represent the “open drawers” of man’s subconscious.

Dream Caused Flight of a Bee
This painting depicts Dali’s wife, Gala nude and sleeping.  With long and thin legs, an elephant walks across the sea’s horizon carrying an obelisk.  Near her body, two drops of water and a small pomegranate are supsended in the air.  Above a larger pomegranate, emerges a fish that spits out a tiger from which another tiger comes out.  Ahead of the second tiger, a rifle’s bayonet makes contact with the women’s right arm.  The work shows the influence of Freud’s theories on dreams and has also been suggested as an interpretation of the Theory of Evolution.