Who Is Emil Nolde And Degenerate Art?
Lexy Immerman
ARTH 111: Survey II
10/15/14
Emil Nolde and Degenerate Art
In 1941, the Nazi government classified Emil Nolde’s Modernist style as “degenerate,” and forbade him to paint. Nazi oppression influenced the work of Emil Nolde, making the watercolors and oil paints he produced during his time in isolation emblematic of Degenerate Art, modernism, and German Expressionism. Nolde’s Sunflowers in the Windstorm (1943) is one of the few oil paintings he made during his time in isolation in Seebüll, Germany. Nolde painted more than 1,300 watercolors during his time there, only rarely using oil paint for the fear that the distinctive smell would alert the authorities to his continued work.
In the painting, three sunflowers are bowed as they …show more content…
Throwing aside old traditions of state-sponsored art academies and ordinarily-accepted values, Expressionist artists preferred simplified or distorted forms or exaggerated figures with high color to convey a truth or perception about the object otherwise unrealized in a more classically-styled work. German Expressionists preferred directness, frankness, and desired to startle the viewer into realizing a truth about the subject. This revealed a unique experience or perspective in each work on the part of the viewer, brought out by that artist’s unique style and preferences, as well as how they themselves perceived the subject. The style of Nolde’s work during his time in isolation make it representative of German Expressionism in the high saturation of color featured in his watercolors [standard german expressionist practices] as well as …show more content…
Benson, and Victor Carlson. Nolde: The Painter's Prints. Exh. cat. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1995.
Moeller, Magdalena M., and Manfred Reuther, eds. Emil Nolde: Druckgraphik aus der Sammlung der Nolde-Stiftung Seebüll. Exh. cat. Berlin: Brücke-Museum, 1999.
Schiefler, Gustav, and Christel Mosel. Emil Nolde: Das graphische Werk. 2 vols. Cologne: DuMont, 1995.
Vergo, Peter, and Felicity Lunn, eds. Emil Nolde. Exh. cat. London: Whitechapel Art Gallery, 1995.
Lucie-Smith, Edward. "Emil Nolde." Lives of the Great 20th-century Artists. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1999. N. pag. Print.
Cotter, Holland. "First, They Came for the Art." The New York Times. The New York Times, 13 Mar. 2014. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
Schjeldahl, Peter. "The Anti-Modernists." New Yorker 24 Mar. 2014
Farago, Jason. "Degenerate Art: The Attack on Modern Art in Nazi Germany, 1937 Review – What Hitler Dismissed as 'filth'" The Guardian. The Guardian, 13 Mar. 2014. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
Starr Figura, German Expressionism: The Graphic Impulse, New York, The Museum of Modern Art, 2011
Emil Nolde, Sunflowers in the Windstorm, 1943. Oil on canvas, 28.6cm x 34.6cm. Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus,
ARTH 111: Survey II
10/15/14
Emil Nolde and Degenerate Art
In 1941, the Nazi government classified Emil Nolde’s Modernist style as “degenerate,” and forbade him to paint. Nazi oppression influenced the work of Emil Nolde, making the watercolors and oil paints he produced during his time in isolation emblematic of Degenerate Art, modernism, and German Expressionism. Nolde’s Sunflowers in the Windstorm (1943) is one of the few oil paintings he made during his time in isolation in Seebüll, Germany. Nolde painted more than 1,300 watercolors during his time there, only rarely using oil paint for the fear that the distinctive smell would alert the authorities to his continued work.
In the painting, three sunflowers are bowed as they …show more content…
Throwing aside old traditions of state-sponsored art academies and ordinarily-accepted values, Expressionist artists preferred simplified or distorted forms or exaggerated figures with high color to convey a truth or perception about the object otherwise unrealized in a more classically-styled work. German Expressionists preferred directness, frankness, and desired to startle the viewer into realizing a truth about the subject. This revealed a unique experience or perspective in each work on the part of the viewer, brought out by that artist’s unique style and preferences, as well as how they themselves perceived the subject. The style of Nolde’s work during his time in isolation make it representative of German Expressionism in the high saturation of color featured in his watercolors [standard german expressionist practices] as well as …show more content…
Benson, and Victor Carlson. Nolde: The Painter's Prints. Exh. cat. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1995.
Moeller, Magdalena M., and Manfred Reuther, eds. Emil Nolde: Druckgraphik aus der Sammlung der Nolde-Stiftung Seebüll. Exh. cat. Berlin: Brücke-Museum, 1999.
Schiefler, Gustav, and Christel Mosel. Emil Nolde: Das graphische Werk. 2 vols. Cologne: DuMont, 1995.
Vergo, Peter, and Felicity Lunn, eds. Emil Nolde. Exh. cat. London: Whitechapel Art Gallery, 1995.
Lucie-Smith, Edward. "Emil Nolde." Lives of the Great 20th-century Artists. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1999. N. pag. Print.
Cotter, Holland. "First, They Came for the Art." The New York Times. The New York Times, 13 Mar. 2014. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
Schjeldahl, Peter. "The Anti-Modernists." New Yorker 24 Mar. 2014
Farago, Jason. "Degenerate Art: The Attack on Modern Art in Nazi Germany, 1937 Review – What Hitler Dismissed as 'filth'" The Guardian. The Guardian, 13 Mar. 2014. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
Starr Figura, German Expressionism: The Graphic Impulse, New York, The Museum of Modern Art, 2011
Emil Nolde, Sunflowers in the Windstorm, 1943. Oil on canvas, 28.6cm x 34.6cm. Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus,