Expressionists

Vincent van Gogh

• Full name: Vincent Willem van Gogh
• Born: 30th March 1853 (Zundert, Netherlands)
• Died: 29 July 1890 (aged 37)
• Works: The Potato Eaters, Sunflowers, Starry Night, At Eternity's Gate, Bedroom in Arles

Sunflowers (oil on canvas, 1888)

• He used color to express his feelings about a subject, rather than to simply describe it. 
• In a letter to his brother, Theo, he explained, "Instead of trying to reproduce exactly what I see before my eyes, I use color more arbitrarily to express myself forcibly."
• His heightened vision helped to liberate color as an emotional instrument. 

Starry Night 1889

• Vincent van Gogh's most famous painting.
• Starry Night was painted from memory and not outdoors as was Vincent's preference.
• Was painted while Vincent was in the asylum at Saint-Remy and his behavior was very erratic at the time, due to the severity of his attacks.

Edvard Munch

• Full name: Edvard Munch
• Born: 12 December 1863 (Loten, Norway)
• Died: 23 January 1944 (aged 81)
• Works: The Scream

The Scream 1893

• Often described as the first expressionistic picture, and is the most extreme example of Munch's soul painting.
• Showing an agonized figure against a blood red sky.
• The painting visualizes a desperate aspect of fin-de-siecle (end of the century): anxiety and apocalypse. 

Franz Marc

• Full name: Franz Marc
• Born: 8th February 1880 (Munich)
• Died: 4th March 1916 (aged 36)
• Works: Fate of the Animals, Tiger, The Yellow Cow, The Blue Horses

Tiger 1912

• Fusion of several influences: the expressive and symbolic used of color that he discovered in the painting of Van Gogh and Gauguin combined with the fragmented and prismatic compositions of various Cubist styles.
• The Tiger and its surroundings are composed of geometric shapes whose similarity suggests both the camouflage of the tiger in its natural habitat and the harmony between the creature and its environment.
• Color is the main element that is used to separate the tiger from its background. Yellow and black shapes outline its form  to convey the markings of the animal.
• The geometric shapes that make up its body are carefully proportioned and simplified to represent the tiger's features, while the rhythmic movement is echoed in the stylized shapes of the rocks and foliage of the background. 

• Elements of Design Analysis:
• Line: Width - uneven lines, Length - long & short, Direction - zigzag, perpendicular, Focus - sharp, Feeling - sharp
• Shape: Irregular shapes - nature, Geometric shapes, Positive shape?
• Value: Shade - adding black paint to create dark values, Low-Key
• Color: Secondary colors - violet, green, orange

• Principles of Design Analysis:
• Hierarchy: Tiger
• Balance: Symmetrical balance - having equal weight on equal sides
• Proximity: 

Part 1: Research and Reference

• Expressionism took place in Germany (around the first World War). The style originated principally in Germany and Austria. They were number of groups of Expressionists painters including Die Brucke (the bridge) and Der Blau Reiter (the Blue Rider). The Expressionists had many influences among them such as Vincent van Gogh and Edvard Munch. 

• Expressionism is an art movement that is more associated with emotions or feelings that with literal interpretation of the subject. The subject of expressionist artworks were frequently distorted or altered. Landmarks of this movement were violent colors and exaggerated lines that helped contain intense emotional expression. Expressionist were trying to pinpoint the expression of inner experience rather than solely realistic portrayal, seeking to depict not objective reality but the subjective emotions and responses that objects and events arouse them. It is the opposite of Impressionism.

• Famous expressionists such as Dutch painter, Vincent van Gogh and Norwegian painter, Edvard Munch. 

Starry Night 1889 by Vincent Van Gogh

The Scream 1893 by Edvard Munch

The Large Blue Horses 1911 by Franz Marc

Deer in the Forest II 1914 by Franz Marc

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Let's start off with the basics. My name is Maisara Manja Bt Kamaruzzaman and I was born on Decemeber 18, 1991. Therefore, I'll be 21 years old by the end of this year and yet some people think I'm still in high school. I'm staying at Taman Tun Dr. Ismail (TTDI) which is not that far from college. I was born and bred here in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I come from a family of 6 and I love them more than anything in this world. I have the most amazing parents that I'm thankful till this very day. I have 4 siblings which consist of 2 boys and 2 girls and I'm the last and youngest member of the family which in Malay they call it "anak bongsu".


Currently, I'm studying Communications at HELP University and I chose Media Studies as my major. I'm in my 2nd year, 1st semester now and so far everything is going smoothly. I'm interested in Communications because based on my observations, the career or job opportunities that it's providing are exciting and entertaining such as journalists, news anchor, media management and a lot more. It also fascinates me to see that we can connect with people through various medias and that is the reason why I'm interested in this course. 


I don't know anything about art or design to be honest. However, I guess this will be a great start for me to learn about it.