Emil Nolde

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Maskenstilleben (Masks Still Life), watercolor on paper, 1911.

Emil Nolde (August 7, 1867 – April 15, 1956) was a German painter. He was one of the first Expressionists, a member of Die Brücke, and is considered to be one of the great watercolor painters of the 20th century. He is known for his vigorous brushwork and expressive choice of colors. Golden yellows and deep reds appear frequently in his work, giving a luminous quality to otherwise somber tones. His watercolors include vivid, brooding storm-scapes and brilliant florals.

He was born as Emil Hansen on a farm in North Schleswig near the village of Nolde, Germany, near the (present-day) German-Danish border, and died in Seebüll, Germany. He was raised on a farm; his parents, devout Protestants, were Frisian peasants. Even as a boy he drew and painted. From 1902 he called himself after his birthplace. Between 1884 and 1891, he studied to become a carver and illustrator in Flensburg. He spent his years of travel in Munich, Karlsruhe and Berlin. From 1906 to 1907 he was a member of the artist group Die Brücke (The Bridge).

Nolde was a supporter of the Nazi party from the early 1920s, having become a member of its Danish section. He expressed negative opinions about Jewish artists, and considered Expressionism to be a distinctively Germanic style. This view was shared by some other members of the Nazi party, notably Joseph Goebbels.

However Hitler rejected all forms of modernism as "degenerate art", and Nolde's work was officially condemned by the Nazi regime. Until that time he had been held in great prestige in Germany. Over 1000 of his works were removed from museums. Some were included in the Degenerate Art exhibition of 1937, despite his protests, including (later) a personal appeal to Nazi gauleiter Baldur von Schirach in Vienna. He was not allowed to paint—even in private—after 1941. Nevertheless, during this period he created hundreds of watercolors, which he hid. He called them the "Unpainted Pictures".

After World War II, Nolde was once again honoured, receiving the German Order of Merit, the country's highest civilian decoration.

Apart from paintings, Nolde's work includes color lithographs and watercolor paintings of various sizes, including landscapes, religious images, flowers, stormy seas and scenes from Berlin nightlife. A famous series of paintings covers the German New Guinea Expedition, visiting the South Seas, Moscow, Siberia, Korea, Japan, and China.