German Expressionism

1. GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM
Dr. J. JANARDHAN

2. EXPRESSIONISM
• Its an artistic style
• Depict not objective reality, but the subjective emotions
• The artist accomplishes this aim through
Distortion
Exaggeration
Primitivism and fantasy
• It is one of the main currents of art in the later 19th and
the 20th Centuries
• It is considered as one of the artistic movement

3. EXPRESSIONISM
• These artists used the expressive possibilities of
colour and line to explore dramatic
and emotion-laden themes,
to convey the qualities of fear, horror & ugly…
• They broke away from the literal representation of
nature in order to express more subjective outlooks

4. EXPRESSIONISM
• The period of expressionism is also called Weimar period
• Captured the emotions and sufferings of nation & people
• German expressionism filmed the reality of daily life.
• German Expressionism roots lay in the works of
Vincent van Gogh,
Edvard Munch, and
James Ensor

5. EXPRESSIONISM

6. GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM
• The German Expressionists soon developed a style
notable for its Harshness,
Boldness,
visual intensity
• This style in films set out to convey the subjective
mental state of the protagonist

7. GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM
• The film’s use of expressionistic elements to establish a
narrative
• That creates a disconnect between subjectivity and
reality
• In scenes throughout the film, sidewalks lead nowhere,
walls appear warped
Creating strange shapes
• Buildings rise at distorted angles in the background

8. STYLE OF GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM
• It captured the emotions and sufferings of the
broken nation and its people.
• The films made were weird, distorted with heavy
shadows to make the story look gloomy and
depressing
• The movement expressed the depression in the
people’s minds caused by the war

9. CHARACTERISTICS OF EXPRESSIONISM
• It used mise-en-scene and heavy atmosphere
• Long shadow effects
• Artificial sets with realistic details
• The details in the sets bring out the emotional,

10. CHARACTERISTICS OF EXPRESSIONISM
• Camera set in unexpected angles gives audience a
different perception
• Aims in evoking mystery, hallucinations and
extreme emotional stress
• Slow pace than other regular movies

11. END OF EXPRESSIONISM
• German expressionism came to an end in 1923
• It was named that expressionism was degenerated art
• German expressionists moved to Hollywood
• Expressionism was fade away gradually with disinterest
in the topic.

13. MUST WATCH FILMS
Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Paul Wegener’s The Golem (1920)
F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu (1922)
Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927)

14. THANK YOU