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Lot Essay
Painted in 1919, Rotblondes Mädchen is an intensely colourful portrait that dates from a period in which Nolde was showing great interest in depicting the human face. This picture is filled with energy, both in the ardent colourism that is shown in the bold colours and in the application of the paint itself, which lends the work a rich texture filled with impasto, revealing the energy and enthusiasm of the painter himself when capturing his subject.
There is a mask-like quality to this face that reflects Nolde's interest in the 'primitive' arts of the South Seas, where he had journeyed years earlier. This sense of the mask is accentuated by the tight composition of the picture, with the face dominating the entire canvas, a detached entity in its own right. Yet from behind this mask comes a piercing gaze, an intense look from the world of the canvas that addresses the viewer - and originally the painter himself - with a bracing directness. Much has been written about the role of women within Nolde's pictures, as well as within his life. Like many of the Expressionists, Nolde was interested in the dualities, the polar extremes between different values, be they good and evil or man and woman. In Rotblondes Mädchen, this polarity is emphasised by the subject's mask-like appearance, yet so is the duality, as the painter becomes involved in a relationship, engaged in a process of exchange with the woman. This is not a portrait per se, but instead a portrayal of women, incarnated in the burning and intense colours of his Expressionistic palette.
It is a tribute to the quality and importance of Rotblondes Mädchen that it was included in so many important early exhibitions, so soon after its execution. This was a crucial period for Nolde and for his recognition. In 1919, the year that Rotblondes Mädchen was painted, he moved back to Berlin, where he would continue to winter for decades to come, and this also resulted in his more prominent exposure to the art world of the time. It is important to note that Nolde did not, during this period, reprise some of the urban themes that had characterised many of his earlier paintings, instead focussing on more personal and spiritual subjects. Rotblondes Mädchen is not merely a portrait, but is instead an archetype, a spiritual and elemental entity from the world of his own private beliefs.
There is a mask-like quality to this face that reflects Nolde's interest in the 'primitive' arts of the South Seas, where he had journeyed years earlier. This sense of the mask is accentuated by the tight composition of the picture, with the face dominating the entire canvas, a detached entity in its own right. Yet from behind this mask comes a piercing gaze, an intense look from the world of the canvas that addresses the viewer - and originally the painter himself - with a bracing directness. Much has been written about the role of women within Nolde's pictures, as well as within his life. Like many of the Expressionists, Nolde was interested in the dualities, the polar extremes between different values, be they good and evil or man and woman. In Rotblondes Mädchen, this polarity is emphasised by the subject's mask-like appearance, yet so is the duality, as the painter becomes involved in a relationship, engaged in a process of exchange with the woman. This is not a portrait per se, but instead a portrayal of women, incarnated in the burning and intense colours of his Expressionistic palette.
It is a tribute to the quality and importance of Rotblondes Mädchen that it was included in so many important early exhibitions, so soon after its execution. This was a crucial period for Nolde and for his recognition. In 1919, the year that Rotblondes Mädchen was painted, he moved back to Berlin, where he would continue to winter for decades to come, and this also resulted in his more prominent exposure to the art world of the time. It is important to note that Nolde did not, during this period, reprise some of the urban themes that had characterised many of his earlier paintings, instead focussing on more personal and spiritual subjects. Rotblondes Mädchen is not merely a portrait, but is instead an archetype, a spiritual and elemental entity from the world of his own private beliefs.