Emil Nolde

Ernst Rump, Hamburg (acquired in 1910)
Wilhelm Rump, Hamburg (by descent from the above)
Sale: Hauswedell & Nolte, Hamburg, 77th Auction 1957, lot 708
Dr Karl Schmidt, Cologne (acquired in 1957)
Thence by descent to the present owner in 1978

Hamburg, Galerie Commeter, Nolde, Paintings, watercolours, graphic works, 1910

Ernst Rump, Lexikon der bildenden Kunstler Hamburgs, Hamburg, 1912, p. 96
Martin Urban, Emil Nolde, Catalogue raisonné of the Oil Paintings 1895-1914, London, 1987, vol. I, no. 187, illustrated in colour p. 180

The canvas is not lined. UV examination reveals a repaired hole with associated retouching to the base of the tree in the foreground. There are two further small spots of retouching, one to the trunk of the tree and one to the lower right quadrant. There are small scattered spots of paint loss in places and fine lines of stable craquelure to the thicker impasto. There are areas of paint shrinkage to the orange and green pigments. The canvas is slightly undulating. This work is in overall good condition.
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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."

Waldboden, painted in 1906, is an outstanding example of Emil Nolde’s landscape paintings. The raw energy that is captured by Nolde's rapid brushwork displays not only the vitality of the nature he depicts but the virulence with which he responds to it. The artist remarked: 'I think it is most important to give freedom to art and one should not force art into a corset. One should be guided by nature whilst lending a free spirit to one's fantasy and experience. Whatever is depicted, be it truth, fantasy or poetry, the best paintings are the ones which seem true, natural, organic and alive' (quoted in Emil Nolde (exhibition catalogue), Kunsthalle Köln, Cologne, 1973, p. 38, translated from German).

In the present work the forest floor is depicted in bright hues of orange interspersed with specks of blue, green, yellow and purple, whilst the greens of the foliage are equally vibrant. Discussing the importance of colour in Nolde's art, Peter Selz writes: 'Nolde subordinates all other pictorial elements to colour [...]. It was no longer employed primarily for its representational value or for its decorative quality, but was more symbolic and expressive. Nolde always retained contact with nature, but he seemed to anticipate Kandinsky's later concepts of the spiritual value of pure colour as an expression of human emotion. Nolde said that he often considered himself only a medium through which colour could exercise its powerful effect on canvas' (Peter Selz, German Expressionist Painting, Los Angeles, 1974, p. 87).

The dense richness of his palette and idiosyncratic approach was particularly influential to his fellow members of the Brücke. The enthusiasm with which younger artists such as Kirchner, Schmidt-Rottluff and Heckel received his works is shown in the way the incorporated elements of his exuberant style into their own work. It is works such as Waldboden that gained Nolde a reputation as one of the pioneers of Expressionism.