Abstract Expressionism

Abstract Expressionism is an art movement that emerged in the United States after World War II, strongly influenced by the presence of most major European artists on American soil during the French Occupation: Braque, Chagall, Picasso, Léger, Matisse, Mondrian. It brings together numerous painters who expressed a highly personal and sensitive abstract style.

- "Colorfield Painting," mainly represented by Mark Rothko and his color rectangles with uncertain contours, set against lighter backgrounds, sometimes in the same tones, sometimes in opposing hues.
- "Action Painting" by Jackson Pollock, where the painter projects color, giving the movement leading to creation as much force as the result on the canvas.
- Lyrical expression where gestural, instinctive, and sometimes calligraphic painting is showcased. Hartung, Soulages, Van Velde, and Debré are leaders in this movement. The term "lyrical," used to describe this abstraction trend, refers to the painter's inner impulse capable of eliciting emotion in the viewer through "forms" that nevertheless "represent" nothing.
- Tachisme is often a blend, emerging after colorfield and action painting, uniting the two movements. The main representative of this movement today is Paul Jenkins.