The Bauhaus movement came to a close in 1933, yet its influence, much like German Expressionism, lingered. The movement placed focus on juxtaposing abstract shapes with balanced forms, and its influence can be seen in the modern architecture that we are surrounded by today. Sertig Valley in Autumn (1920) by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner; Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Unable to lessen the pain from his father's passing, Rouault started a series of Indian ink drawings, which would eventually serve as the base of the engravings of his monumental masterpiece, the Miserere book. Rouault would have to wait until 1948 to see this project reach fruition when the book was published with a total of 58 engravings. The initial drawings were all based on the 50th Psalm of Repentance in Catholic liturgy, Miserere mie Deus, but Rouault was also influenced by the horrors of World War I, and his own concern for the marginalized in society.German Expressionist painters rejected the naturalistic depiction of objective reality, often portraying distorted figures, buildings, and landscapes in a disorienting manner that disregarded the conventions of perspective and proportion. This approach, combined with jagged, stylized shapes and harsh, unnatural colors, were used to convey subjective emotions. It is traditional that the puppets in the Aunt Sally game are based on local or national public figures. Here, Rouault chooses to comment on the anonymous bourgeois class by depicting a dazed and unanimated row of characters. The stylization of the puppets aggravates the caricature as we cannot differentiate the puppets from the human beings. The fun dimension of the game gives way to a grotesque and pathetic portrayal of the bourgeois classes. Moreover, the party here is supposed to be attending the wedding of a minor celebrity, which adds to the satirical depiction of the class who would look down on such festivities. German Expressionist films produced in the Weimar Republic immediately following the First World War not only encapsulate the sociopolitical contexts in which they were created, but also rework the intrinsically modern problems of self-reflexivity, spectacle and identity.

Kracauer, Siegfried. "Caligari" in From Caligari to Hitler. Princeton: Princeton University Press, [1947] 2004. 61–76. For more on German Expressionism's most singularly important producer and director, see Leopold Jessner (1878–1945). For more on the period's most important production company and distributor, see Universum Film AG, popularly known as UFA. Eventually, these German Expressionism characteristics would go on to set the scene for the development of mid-century Abstraction.Landau and Parshall, The Renaissance Print, pp. 179–202; 273–81 & passim; Yale, 1996, ISBN 0-300-06883-2 Schiefler, Gustav, and Christel Mosel. Emil Nolde: Das graphische Werk. 2 vols. Cologne: DuMont, 1995. One of the best examples of German Expressionism transcending fine art is the work of filmmaker Fritz Lang. He created Metropolis in 1927, a futuristic melodramatic science-fiction piece that drew heavily on Gothic style for inspiration. His depiction of an urban dystopia demonstrated the conflict between good and evil, similar themes that had gripped Germany during World War I. Like the distinctive brushstrokes and shades of German Expressionist paintings, set lighting in Metropolis served as a notable characteristic of the film, and illustrated how lighting served as an important visual tool for creating a mood or experience on screen in German Expressionist film.