In general, a tendency to use the means of painting – colour, space, texture, form – to express the emotions of the artist, rather than to faithfully represent the outer world; an example being the works of Vincent Van Gogh. German Expressionism was a specific style in which distorted form and bold, strident colours were used to communicate raw emotions and feelings. At the forefront of this style were such groups as Die Brücke (The Bridge) and Blaue Reiter (Blue Rider); leading exponents included Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Emil Nolde.