Hogan 1
Formalism and Expressionism in Modern Art
Shannon Hogan
Hoyne Santa-Balazs
History of Art 202
December 4, 2018
Hogan 2
The modernist movement began in the mid 19th century and encourages artists to create
unique art that is also relevant to their time. In order to achieve a modernist status, avant-garde
artists must incorporate the three principles of modernism in their work; authenticity of subject
matter, autonomy of the artist, and a commitment to innovation. These principles subject the
avant-garde artists to create originality in all aspects of their work and led to the rise of both
formalist and expressionist trends in the world of art. While both trends are a product of
modernity, they differ in what the artist intends to convey and in how they convey it. Bohdan
Dziemidok (185-128) as well as Richard Willheim (127-128) unambiguously argue that formalist
artists place all value on the formal aspects incorporated with in the artwork, they believe that all
non-formal features are irrelevant (185-186). In terms of expressionism, Ashley Bassie (94) and
