Emil Nolde

Alfred Hess, Erfurt
Georg Hess, Erfurt (by descent from the above by 1928)
Trude Krautheimer-Hess, New York (by descent from the above)
Richard Feigen, Chicago (by 1956)
Burt Kleiner, Beverly Hills
Sale: Klipstein & Kornfeld, Bern, 8th June 1961, lot 74
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner 

Frankfurt, Ludwig Schames, Emil  Nolde, 1915, no. 26
Dresden, Galerie Arnold, Emil  Nolde, 1916
Frankfurt, Ludwig Schames, Emil  Nolde - Gemälde, Aquarelle, Grafiken, 1917, no. 24
Hanover, Kestner-Gesellschaft, Emil Nolde, Gemälde, Grafik, 1918, no. 42
Munich, Neue Kunst Hans Goltz, Sonderausstellung: Emil Nolde, Gemälde, Graphik, 1918, no. 22
New York, Museum of Modern Art, German Art of the Twentieth Century, 1957, no. 143, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Chicago, Richard Feigen Gallery, Twentieth Century German Art, 1958, no. 19, illustrated in the catalogue
New York, Museum of Modern Art, Emil Nolde, 1963, no. 32, illustrated in the catalogue

Hans Fehr,' Botho Graef', Das Kunstblatt, Weimar, 1918, vol. II, no. 2, illustrated p. 347
Max Sauerlandt, Emil Nolde, Munich, 1921, no. 55, illustrated
Peter Selz, German Expressionist Painting, Berkeley & Los Angeles, 1957, no. 130, illustrated p. 484
Alfred Werner, 'Emil Nolde, German Expressionist', in American Artist, Cincinnati, 1963, vol. 27, no. 1, illustrated p. 41
Martin Urban, Emil Nolde, Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil-Paintings 1915-1951, London, 1990, vol. II, no. 667, illustrated p. 57

The canvas is unlined. There are no signs of retouching visible under ultra-violet light. There are some fine hairline cracks in the white of the two outer figures. Apart from some areas of light paint shrinkage in the black of the centre figure, this work is in good condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurate, although the green and brown tones are stronger in the original.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Drei Russen III was painted in 1915 on the artist's return from Russia to Germany, based on the sketches executed during his travels. He depicted three Russian men in heavy winter clothing in half-figure. In its technical execution and bold brushwork, the present work is one of the strongest of a series of four recorded oils of Russian sitters painted at this time. The central figure is emphasised by colour, light and size. The flanking figures with their individually coloured physiognomies remain in the background and all three figures gaze absent-mindedly into the viewer's space. The earth tones dominating Drei Russen III, juxtaposed with snow-whites and ice-blues reflect Nolde's notion stemming from his own blood-and-soil mystique, the rejuvenating force that comes from man's close relationship with the land.   

Taking on a tradition started by Paul Gauguin, and followed by a number of early twentieth-century artists, Emil Nolde set out to the South Seas in 1913. Having lived in Berlin for many years, and having exhausted the themes of its nightlife in his paintings of 1910 to 1913 depicting the cabaret, the theatre, masked balls and cafés of the metropolis, Nolde decided to travel to unknown countries in search of a more 'primitive' lifestyle and new inspiration for his art. In autumn 1913 he accepted an invitation to participate in a 'medical-demographic' expedition sponsored by the German Reichskolonialamt (Imperial Colonial Office), and set out for New Guinea.

The expedition left Berlin on the 2^nd October 1913, and made a brief pause in Moscow before continuing east by the Trans-Siberian railway. Peter Vergo described the Russian part of Nolde's travels: 'At every stage of the seemingly interminable journey across the empty wastes of Siberia, Nolde exploited what few opportunities there were for drawing and sketching the local population. He was evidently fascinated by the various specimens of humanity encountered en route, especially the indigenous peoples of Oriental Russia, whom he described as 'closer to the soil'; for Nolde, these ethnic 'types' displayed not merely the same intimate bond with nature but also the same undiluted physiognomic traits and distinctive racial attributes he thought to find in the 'primitive' islanders of the South Seas. From this phase of the journey date his various depictions of Siberian families glimpsed in the smoke-filled waiting rooms or on the freezing platforms of the stations at which the train briefly stopped' (P. Vergo, Emil Nolde (exhibition catalogue), Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, 1995, p. 140).

In painting portraits, Nolde was interested in depicting types, rather than particular individuals and their personalities. As the artist himself noted: 'A number of times I have been asked if I really have no interest in people, because I hardly seem to look. 'Oh indeed I do', I say, because I actually like to look very much. Maybe just a little differently than usual. The eye should be able to take in an impression in one twelfth of a second, any more time spent is private pleasure. But also if you only half look at people they become simpler and larger' (quoted in Emil Nolde Portraits (exhibition catalogue), Ulmer Museum, Ulm & De Zonnehof, Amersfoort, 2005-06, p. 9). 

Tilman Osterwold remarked on the innovative language of Nolde's portraits from that period: 'The simplicity of the everyday is the element that really marks Nolde's sphere of experience. This includes the central, substantial question of what the visualisation of human beings actually means. It is on this level of reciprocal challenge that his portraits are built. The simplicity of this concept forms the source for the special that is to be found in ordinary, everyday experience. Nolde's stylistically unprejudiced new path led - from today's perspective - to a unique form of portrait. The eloquence and directness of his compositions creates an inimitable intensity of pictorial and thematic refinement and conceptual intelligence' (T. Osterwold, ibid.,  pp. 56-57).

 

 

 

 

 

This work has been requested for the Emil Nolde exhibition to be held at the Musée Fabre in Montpellier, Réunion des Musées  Nationaux from September 2008 - May 2009.