Emil Nolde

(Paris)

To brighten up a rainy Sunday in Paris we visited the Grand Palais where the exhibition dedicated to Emil Nolde was. These days Paris is blooming with so many interesting exhibitions that it is difficult to make up one’s mind where to go. Well, I am happy that there is a lot of GOOD choices!

Couple sur la plage (détail).
Oil on Canvas 73,5 x 88,5 cm.
© Nolde Stiftung-Seebüll

A well curated exhibition showcased the full Nolde’s artistic career and life. Emil Nolde (1867 – 1956) probably was a personality with great sense of who he truly is and what his values are. While very well travelled, he never lost the sense of touch with his origins and his homeland where he felt he belonged, his values – in other words – what he thought was his true self. He always had the courage to be himself and thus regarded his independence to be extremely precious. Nolde rejected all the opportunities to join certain artistic (except for Die Brucke) or political groups and organizations that would give him certain social status. Even while being part of the Die Brucke he openly declared that such association is not going to influence his independent thinking and ability to paint what he believes in.

Those of us who are curious about different ways of living and different cultures probably sometimes aspire to be like someone we like or respect. However, Nolde throughout his personal and artistic life rather than trying to be like someone else, he was seeking to get closer to whom he really is – his true essence. This search of truth, purity, and geniality is very much evident throughout his artwork.

A person both simple and cultivated, defined and beastful, child and giant, naïve and refined, temperamental yet rational, passionate and dispassionate, full of exuberant life and a silent peace.

Comments by the exhibition’s curator Sylvain Amic

After his travels in Papua New Guinea he was horrified by the European initiatives in that part of the world – colonization, materialisation, and the missionary activities. He strongly believed that modern world is no longer in touch with oneself and thus is blind to things that are truly precious. Nolde thought that indigenous people are the actual true men living in perfect harmony with their surroundings, nature, and the overall cosmos. The modern world, on the other hand, is destroying their purity and their actual value to the universe by the activities they impose on the natives.

When looking through Nolde’s artwork just observe his ability to paint in different styles and carry out a range of subjects, mix different moods and colors (Nolde is regarded to be a great colorist!), but at the same time observe his hand, which executed the artwork - very stable, grounded and determined. That very much reflects his personality.

“Harvest Day”, 1905
Oil on canvas,73 x 92 cm

“The Painter Schmidt-Rottluff”, 1906
Oil on canvas, 52 x 37 cm

“Pensées” (1908)
Oil on canvas, 73 x 89 cm

White Tree Trunks (1908)
Oil on canvas, 67.5 x 77.5 cm

“Bedevilled Dancing”, 1909
Oil on Canvas, 71 x 87 cm

“At the Café” (1911)
Oil on Canvas, 81 x 101cm

“Nature morte aux danseuses” (1914)
Oil an Canvas, 73 x 89cm

“Child and Large Bird,” 1912
Oil on canvas, 73 x 88 cm

“The Sea III” (1913)
Oil on canvas, 87 x 100 cm
Photo: Nolde Stiftung-Seebüll

“Native Woman wearing a Necklace” (1914)
Watercolour, India ink, 50 x 36 cm
Photo: Nolde Stiftung-Seebüll

“Prophet” (1912)
Woodcut, composition, 32.1 x 22.2 cm

“The Entombment” (1915)
Oil on Canvas, 86 x 117 cm
Photo: Nolde Stiftung-Seebüll

For the factual details about Nolde’s artistic and personal life, I highly recommend visiting the exhibition. You can also find more information online:

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