Refers to the satirical movement that developed in German painting in the early 1920s and continued until the rise of National Socialism in the 1930s. Reacting to the violence of World War I, the style is characterized by a rejection of Expressionism and an emphasis on close observation of objects; social criticism; cold, static, figures; and sometimes naive styles.

Source: Art & Architecture Thesaurus

http://vocab.getty.edu/page/aat/300056541