The art world is filled with so many great artists that it’s very easy to overlook a few gems, like in the case of Emil Nolde. Over the years Nolde’s works has gained momentum and he is considered a German Expressionist whiz, it took 25 years after his death for the art world to discover his work. It is ironic that his work only just recently got noticed, for it is quite appeal and aesthetics, Nolde gives another dimension to German Expressionism. Apart from being a great oil painter, he was a genius with water colors, known for his dynamic brushwork and his choice of using vibrant colors. When the viewer looks at Nolde’s work there is an explosion of beautiful colors, each with their own meaning. In many ways, during his living years as a painter Nolde was a neglected German master – which is a loss for that generation.
Born as Emil Hansen, near the village of Nolde in Denmark into a family of farmers. Since his childhood Nolde realized continuing the family tradition of farming was not what he wanted to do. He dabbled into sculpting and art classes and traveled to Germany and took up painting full time. Much of Nolde’s work as an artist is regarded as experimental, from landscapes, to lush settings of German mountains, flowers, to night life in Germany, the sea side and religious depictions. Nolde was raised in a very conservative and religious family, his deep connection with religion is reflected in some of his works. Now Nolde’s works is regarded as one of the greats and are found in art galleries across the world from Sweden, Norway, New York, Scotland to London. Just recently his work Blumengarten was sold in London for a whopping £3 million. A pretty deserving price for a painting considered to be one of Nolde’s finest. Rich in oil colors, the painting is an array of flowers in a field with blossoming meadows in green and deep purple. Nodle was such a master of colors that only he could get away with showing a meadow in a deep purple color. The painting has so many rich colors that one might think they will all overpower one another but that’s hardly the case, Nolde was too good with his technique and brushwork to make that mistake. Another great by Nolde is the Flower Garden, this time Nolde experimented with dull and matte colors. Despite the lack of shine of the painting, the matte surface works as it draws the viewer in. The dull colors give the painting a sense of life, the painting owes its beauty to Nolde who as simple too good with mixing colors.
Nodle’s religious infatuation is clearly examined in his standouts The Prophet and The Burial. The Prophet is vastly different from the rest of Nolde’s work as it is a simple portrait in thick black and white paint. The Burial shows Nolde’s strengths, there is deep sense of emotion in this painting, which is oil on canvas. The exact religious context of the painting is still unknown to this day but many experts believe that it falls into Nolde’s religious inspirations. He has used strong brushwork to make all three figures stand out in the painting. No doubt discovered late, Emil Nolde is one of the most powerful icons of Expressionism.
