Expressionism in Art and Film

How expressionism crossed genres in pursuit of the total artwork, from Nolde to Murnau

As a revolutionary cultural movement, Expressionism endeavored to join art and life and diminish the separation between the arts. The Gesamtkunstwerk–the total artwork–became the ideal for artists. Expressionism in Art and Film traces this crossing of genre boundaries, outlining mutual influences between painting, graphics and film. Exaggerated figures, strong contrast and distorted perspective pervaded all three mediums, reflecting the tremendous angst of the early 20th century’s social upheavals. Social critique also figured centrally in the movement, in caricatured depictions of modern men and women. This volume highlights these elements of Expressionism, drawing parallels between art and film. Artists Erich Heckel, Emil Nolde, Paula Mondersohn-Becker, Alexander Kanoldt, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Otto Mueller figure here, as well as directors Robert Wiene, F.W. Murnau and Ernst Lubitsch.