Final answer:
Expressionism was an influential artistic movement originating in early 20th-century Germany, which aimed to express artists' emotions rather than depicting reality. It involved distortion of form and bold color use, and was prominent across various art forms until the rise of the Nazis.
Step-by-step explanation:
Expressionism in Early Twentieth Century Arts
Expressionism was a powerful movement that emerged in the early twentieth century, notably in Berlin, Munich, and Vienna. Its main goal was to express the strong emotion that the object generated in the artist, rather than to depict objects as they were seen. This avant-garde movement focused on emotional experience and often led to the distortion of form and the use of bold colors. Subjective experience was paramount, with artists seeking to convey moods or ideas rather than an objective physical reality.
Prior to World War I, Expressionism became the dominant form in Germany and was evident in various forms of public life, including painting, theater, architecture, and literature. Key figures like Käthe Kollwitz and Gustav Klimt were among the notable artists of this period. Expressionist artists created works that were sometimes beautiful, but often grotesque and abstract, aiming to project disturbing realities of their inner minds and spirits.
With its peak in the 1920s in Berlin, Expressionism extended to a wide array of arts and continued to be popular through the Weimar Republic. However, the movement saw its decline with the rise of the Nazis in 1933 and the fall of the Weimar Republic. Nonetheless, the impact of Expressionism can still be felt across various art forms today.