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Lot Essay
'As [they did] for Mondrian, flowers symbolized for Nolde the eternally repeated cycle of birth, life and death; in his autobiography, he compared the life-cycle of the flower, "sprouting, blossoming, gleaming, glowing, bringing joy, drooping, wilting, ending up on the rubbish tip" ( Jahre der Kämpfe, p. 100) with that of the work of art, which he likewise considered the product of natural forces, itself subject to the immutable laws of creation and decay' (P. Vergo, Emil Nolde, catalogue of the exhibition, Whitechapel, London, Dec.-Feb. 1996, p. 118).
Nolde's flower paintings can be divided into three main bodies, following the chronological order of their creation: the first group includes the works executed in Alsen during the years before 1914; the second refers to the paintings and watercolours realised in Utenwarf between 1916 and 1926; the third comprises the works executed from 1927 onwards at Seebll, the house and atelier designed by the artist and built just on the German side of the border with Denmark. As P. Vergo points out, 'There also exist other, specific sub-groups of flower and garden paintings linked with particular events or datable to certain periods. Among these is the extended series of depictions of sunflowers, either on their own or in combination with other species, on which Nolde embarked in 1926 and which continued over the next twenty years. His intensive preoccupation with this particular subject probably reflects his continuing interest in the art of Van Gogh - an interest sustained by several visits during the 1920s and early 1930s to exhibitions of the Dutch artist's work' (ibidem, p. 118).
Sold with a photo-certificate from Professor Martin Urban of the Nolde-Stiftung, Seebll, dated Seebll, 30.6.1998
Nolde's flower paintings can be divided into three main bodies, following the chronological order of their creation: the first group includes the works executed in Alsen during the years before 1914; the second refers to the paintings and watercolours realised in Utenwarf between 1916 and 1926; the third comprises the works executed from 1927 onwards at Seebll, the house and atelier designed by the artist and built just on the German side of the border with Denmark. As P. Vergo points out, 'There also exist other, specific sub-groups of flower and garden paintings linked with particular events or datable to certain periods. Among these is the extended series of depictions of sunflowers, either on their own or in combination with other species, on which Nolde embarked in 1926 and which continued over the next twenty years. His intensive preoccupation with this particular subject probably reflects his continuing interest in the art of Van Gogh - an interest sustained by several visits during the 1920s and early 1930s to exhibitions of the Dutch artist's work' (ibidem, p. 118).
Sold with a photo-certificate from Professor Martin Urban of the Nolde-Stiftung, Seebll, dated Seebll, 30.6.1998