Expressionism was a modernist movement that originated in Northern Europe, primarily Germany, in the early 20th century. Its hallmark was to depict the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it for emotional effect to evoke an appropriate mood or idea.
Artists of this movement sought to express the meaning of emotional experience, the subjective feelings and reactions that objects and events evoke in people, rather than physical reality. The style encompassed not only painting, but also architecture, literature, theater, dance, film, and music.
Important forerunners of Expressionism included Friedrich Nietzsche, August Strindberg, Frank Wedekind, Walt Whitman, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Vincent van Gogh, James Ensor, Sigmund Freud, and Edvard Munch.
