Emil Nolde

Key facts

Lived

1867–1956, German

Movement

• Expressionism

Works held in

33 museums^[1]

• Flower Garden, Kneeling Woman with Hat

  National Gallery of Art

  Washington, D.C., United States

  104 works

  

  Museum detailsMap
• Masks

  Museum Folkwang

  Stadtbezirk II (Essen), Germany

  18 works

  Museum detailsMap
• Ocean and Dark Clouds

  Statens Museum for Kunst

  Copenhagen Municipality, Denmark

  12 works

  

  Museum detailsMap
• Zinnias and Lilies

  Nolde Museum Seebüll

  Seebüll, Germany

  14 works

  Museum detailsMap
• Red Clouds

  Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum

  Palace of Villahermosa, Spain

  8 works

  Museum detailsMap
• The Great Gardener

  Sprengel Museum

  Sammlungszentrum Hannover, Germany

  3 works

  Museum detailsMap

Plan your visit to see Emil Nolde →

• Emil nolde art movement?+

  Emil Nolde was part of the Expressionism movement. He joined Die Brücke in 1906 but found group membership constraining and left after eighteen months.
• Emil nolde facts?+

  Emil Nolde was born in North Schleswig, near Nolde, Germany, and changed his name to Nolde in 1902, after his birthplace. In 1906, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff invited him to join Brücke, and he taught Brücke members about woodcut techniques.
• How did emil nolde die?+

  Emil Nolde died in 1956 at the age of 89.
• What is emil nolde known for?+

  Emil Nolde is known as a painter, printmaker, and watercolourist. He developed a style involving intense colour and thick, gestural impasto.
• What is Emil Nolde's most famous work?+

  Nolde is best known for his emotionally charged paintings, woodcuts, and watercolours. Although it is difficult to single out one definitive piece, several works are particularly well recognised. Among his paintings, *The Last Supper* (1909) is considered a major work. Its expressive use of colour and distortion of form are typical of Nolde's style. Other significant paintings include *Dance Around the Golden Calf* (1910), which demonstrates his interest in biblical themes and exotic subjects, and *Masks* (1911), which reflects his fascination with the expressive power of tribal art. Nolde also produced a substantial body of graphic work. His woodcuts, such as *Prophet* (1912), are notable for their bold, simplified forms and rough-hewn textures. These prints often convey a sense of raw emotion and spiritual intensity. His watercolours, frequently depicting flowers and seascapes, are admired for their luminous colours and atmospheric effects. Nolde's diverse output and distinctive style have secured his place as a major figure of German Expressionism.
• What should I know about Emil Nolde's prints?+

  Emil Nolde (born in Schleswig, 1867; died in Seebüll, 1956) was a painter, watercolourist, and printmaker associated with German Expressionism. He trained as a woodcarver before studying painting. In 1902, he adopted the name of his birthplace. Nolde's printmaking output includes around 525 works, created mostly before 1926. These are primarily unpublished etchings and woodcuts, often in black and white. He frequently developed his images through multiple states. Karl Schmidt-Rottluff introduced Nolde to woodcut techniques in 1906, when Nolde briefly joined the Brücke group; Nolde, in turn, taught Brücke members his etching methods. Lithography was another important medium for Nolde. He used it to experiment with colour, producing several large-scale works with numerous colour variations in 1913. His prints, like his other work, explored Expressionist themes. These included urban nightlife, northern regions, biblical scenes, and what he considered "primitive" subjects. Examples of his prints include the 1912 woodcut *Prophet*, and the colour lithographs *Jumping Jacks* (1913), *Actress* (1913), and *Russian Woman* (1913).
• What style or movement did Emil Nolde belong to?+

  Emil Nolde is associated with the Expressionist movement, particularly Die Brücke (The Bridge). This group of German artists formed in Dresden in 1905. Other members included Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel, and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff. Nolde was older than the others; he joined Die Brücke in 1906 but only remained a member for about a year. Despite this brief period, his work shares characteristics with other Expressionists. These include distorted forms, strong colours, and emotionally charged subjects. Expressionism aimed to convey subjective feelings and inner visions rather than objective reality. Nolde's paintings often depict religious scenes, flowers, and portraits. His use of colour is especially distinctive; he applied it in bold, sometimes clashing combinations to create powerful effects. Although connected to Die Brücke, Nolde maintained his own individual style throughout his career. He explored themes of isolation, nature, and spirituality in a manner that set him apart from the other Expressionists.
• What techniques or materials did Emil Nolde use?+

  Emil Nolde was a painter, printmaker, and watercolourist. He is known for a style involving intense colour and thick, gestural impasto. Nolde's method involved working impulsively, often changing his mind and piling colour on colour. He might also scrape the brush back and forth, or add brushloads of white into wet blues and blacks, despite knowing it was hopeless. Some paintings look like cracked moulds, while others are scratched and rubbed. Nolde trained as a woodcarver. Karl Schmidt-Rottluff introduced him to woodcut in 1906, and Nolde taught Brücke members his etching techniques. Nolde ultimately produced 525 prints, almost all before 1926, mostly unpublished etchings and woodcuts in black and white. He often developed his images through several states. He frequently used lithography to experiment with colour, including several monumental works printed in numerous colour variations in 1913. Colour was Nolde's chief means of expression. He had a physical relationship to colours, noting "it was as if they loved my hands".
• What was Emil Nolde known for?+

  Emil Nolde (1867-1956) was a German-Danish Expressionist painter and printmaker. He is known for intense colour and emotionally charged depictions of flowers, religious subjects, and figures. Nolde joined the artist group Die Brücke (The Bridge) in 1906, but his association was brief. He developed a personal style characterised by bold brushwork and non-naturalistic colour. His work often explored themes of isolation, spirituality, and the power of nature. A significant portion of Nolde's work involves religious imagery. These paintings often present biblical scenes with raw emotion. Figures are rendered with exaggerated features and intense expressions. Nolde's relationship with the Nazi regime is complex. Initially, he was sympathetic to some aspects of National Socialism. However, his art was later condemned as "degenerate" by the Nazis, and he was forbidden from painting professionally. Despite this prohibition, he continued to create art in secret, producing hundreds of small-format watercolours he called "Unpainted Pictures". These works demonstrate his continued exploration of colour and form during a period of repression.
• When did Emil Nolde live and work?+

  Emil Nolde was born Emil Hansen in 1867, in the village of Nolde, North Schleswig (then part of Germany). He died in Seebüll, West Germany, in 1956. Nolde trained as a woodcarver, then studied painting. In 1902, he adopted Nolde, his birthplace, as his surname. His career unfolded mainly in Germany, with periods spent in Switzerland and travels further afield. Nolde's artistic journey included ornamental carving in various cities (Munich, Karlsruhe and Berlin) from 1888 to 1890. He taught ornamental drawing in St. Gallen, Switzerland, from 1891. He later studied art in Munich and Dachau, and attended the Académie Julian in Paris. He lived in Copenhagen, Berlin and Flensburg, before settling on the island of Alsen in 1903. Nolde joined the Brücke group in Dresden (1906-1907), but otherwise lived an isolated existence. The Nazis confiscated over a thousand of Nolde's works from German collections in 1937, and forbade him from painting after 1941.
• Where can I see Emil Nolde's work?+

  Nolde's paintings are held by many museums internationally. In Germany, major collections are at the Nolde Stiftung Seebüll; the Brücke Museum, Berlin; the Hamburger Kunsthalle; and the Museum Folkwang, Essen. The Nolde Stiftung Seebüll, near the German-Danish border, holds the most comprehensive collection. Nolde lived and worked at Seebüll from 1927 until his death in 1956. The Stiftung displays a rotating selection of his oils, watercolours, and prints. The Brücke Museum owns a number of Nolde's works from his time as a member of the Die Brücke group (1906-1907). The Hamburger Kunsthalle has a collection of German Expressionist art, including paintings by Nolde. The Museum Folkwang's holdings include important early paintings. Outside Germany, The Museum of Modern Art in New York has a selection of his prints. The Tate holds a number of his watercolours and prints. These and other institutions offer opportunities to view Nolde's diverse output.
• Where was emil nolde born?+

  Emil Nolde was born in 1867 in Germany. Emil Nolde died in 1956, aged 89.