1. The  term Expressionism was coined by  Czech art historian  Czech art historian Antonin Mat?j?ek in 1910 as the opposite of impressionism. It is the name of a North European avantgarde art movement of Hitler in the 1930's.  The main Expressionist art forms.are painting and film
2.  Expressionism was a strong trend in modern art even before the rise of the Expressionist movement. Gauguin, Van Gough and Munch - especially The cream-  were fore runners of expressionisn because they used distorted form, vivid colour an strong brushstrokes to depict inner feelings.  Fauvism was also an early example of expressionistic painting ( see primitivism)