Expressionist photography uses the medium as a personal language to express feelings and inner visions. This style challenges the conventions of realistic and documentary representation, prioritizing subjective interpretation and raw emotional impact. A new series of portraits by Ernesto Gonzalez Diaz explores these ideas in a Cuban context.
Expressionist photography is defined by its focus on the artist's subjectivity, using the medium to convey emotions and inner visions rather than an objective reproduction of reality. Unlike documentary photography, which seeks testimony and objectivity, expressionism pursues personal interpretation, often incorporating raw emotional impact and even the grotesque.
The primary goal is not to show reality as it is, but how it feels or is perceived, resulting in an emotional distortion of it. This style, applied particularly to portraits, draws direct inspiration from Expressionism, an early twentieth-century artistic movement in painting, cinema, and literature. The movement reacted against Impressionism and Realism, emphasizing inner emotions and the creator's subjectivity.
To achieve these effects, the photographer employs techniques such as heavy makeup, grimaces, and facial expressions that communicate sensations, moods, and deep emotions. The featured series, titled 'Expressionist Portraits from Cuba', consists of 19 photographs captured by Ernesto Gonzalez Diaz and published on Havana Times on December 12, 2025.
This approach invites viewers to connect with the emotional dimensions of the portrayed subjects, offering a window into subjective experiences within a Cuban context. Additional similar photo features are available on the Havana Times platform.