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How to Explain Expressionism to a Sixth-Grader

In 1883, a painter, Edvard Munch, was walking with two friends across a bridge in Germany. They stopped for a minute to admire the landscape, which was lush and green and lit under a waning sun. Eventually, the sunset turned bright red, Munch recalled, and he felt a "scream" go through nature. This was the inspiration for Munch's famous portrait, "The Scream." In that painting, red-hued colors swirl around a screaming man as two other men walk onward in the background. "The Scream" is one of the most famous expressionist paintings and can be used when explaining Expressionism, a popular art form in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

A copy of "The Scream," "View of Toledo" and "Rehe im Welde"

Instructions

- 1
  Explain the time period and origins of expressionism. Highlight how Expressionist artists felt estranged from their society. For example, many Expressionists were located in 19th-cenutry Germany. The German society was changing and modernizing and not in all good ways. Expressionists set out to show what they thought the world was like, not the literal picture they saw around them.
- 2
  Define the hallmarks of Expressionism. Explain that these include exaggerated images--larger or smaller than real-life objects--distorted colors and fantasy, using images that cannot exist in reality.
- 3
  Show examples of famous Expressionist works. Use "The Scream" first. Explain that this portrait includes all the Expressionist hallmarks: The man's mouth is exaggerated and long. The colors in the background are swirled together and distorted. And all of this suggests a degree of fantasy. Next show "View of Toledo" and "Rehe im Walde."

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