"Every age projects its own images into its arts." Expressionism is a period of art that is known to be a part of the "modernist" movement. There were many other styles also involved in the modernist movement. Expressionism in particular is somewhat similar to impressionism because of the expression of thought and emotion. Expressionism differs from impressionism because it is even more abstract. It is a reaction against impressionism in a way because it focuses completely on conveying inner thoughts and feelings, rather than capturing a specific moment, as was the goal of impressionism. Expressionist artists focused on drawing their artistic inspiration from within rather than from their surroundings. Expressionism is said to have begun in Germany and caught hold initially in poetry and painting. This was a result of dissociative feelings during the time period that expressionism began and an increased amount of social criticism. Two of the best known artists during this time were Kandinsky and Kirchner.
