Existing comment:
European Neo-Expressionism:
In the late 1970s, another figurative style dedicated to the renewed viability of painting came into prominence. But this style, referred to as Neo-Expressionism, rejected the deadpan of Pop Art and Minimalism. Neo-Expressionists used the violent brushstrokes of Abstract Expressionism to convey many of the same dire emotions of alienation and despair while retaining recognizable figures. This style was popularized in Europe, especially by German and Italian artists who carried on the tradition of modern Expressionists such as Edward Munch and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner.
The subjects they portray, whether individuals or landscapes, appear both financially and spiritually impoverished -- an apt sentiment in Germany and Italy where Fascist dictatorships ruled just one generation earlier. Neo-Expressionism marked the return to a painterly style, grand scale, and heroic subject matter, and it dominated the art market in the 1980s. |