This catalogue documents the important exhibition on Emil Nolde (1867-1956), the great loner of German Expressionism.
In 1897 Nolde made his first painting, in 1899 he took his first trip to Paris, where he was attracted by the work of Rembrandt, F. Goya, H. Daumier and V. Van Gogh. In 1907 he joined the “Die Brucke” group in Dresden. His first religious subjects date back to 1909: with them the artist made his decisive, personal contribution to Expressionism. Nolde’s painting is enriched with mystical accents, moving toward an intense spiritual impact. During the Nazi regime he was forbidden to continue painting. Therefore he made his “unpainted paintings”: small watercolors whose intensity and depth narrate “the moment when a spark begins to twinkle in the darkness, becoming a flame, a bursting fire”, he wrote in his diary, when he felt “all dreams, all magic extinguished”. He painted in a secret corner of his home where the works could easily be hidden, using leftover scraps of Japanese paper. Nolde story has been reconstructed here, through about seventy paintings and a fine selection of watercolors and other works.