[ik-spresh-uh-niz-uh
m] 
| 1. | Fine Arts.
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| 2. | (often lowercase) Theater. a style of playwriting and stage presentation stressing the emotional content of a play, the subjective reactions of the characters, symbolic or abstract representations of reality, and nonnaturalistic techniques of scenic design. |
| 3. | Literature. a technique of distorting objects and events in order to represent them as they are perceived by a character in a literary work. |
| 4. | (usually lowercase) a phase in the development of early 20th-century music marked by the use of atonality and complex, unconventional rhythm, melody, and form, intended to express the composer's psychological and emotional life. |
| ex·pres·sion·ism (ĭk-sprěsh'ə-nĭz'əm) n. A movement in the arts during the early part of the 20th century that emphasized subjective expression of the artist's inner experiences. ex·pres'sion·ist n., ex·pres'sion·is'tic adj., ex·pres'sion·is'ti·cal·ly adv. |
An artistic style that departs from the conventions of realism and naturalism and seeks to convey inner experience by distorting rather than directly representing natural images. The highly personal visions communicated in the paintings of Vincent van Gogh are early examples of expressionism. Edvard Munch and Georges Rouault are considered expressionist painters.