Emil Nolde — Gallery of the Finest Paintings Created from 1906 to 1953

Emil Nolde was one of the most vivid representatives of Expressionism, a member of the famous artists' group "Die Brücke". His works are distinguished by an astonishing and vivid combination of colors, slight distortion of normal proportions, and emphasis on features of character that fascinated Nolde. Mystical, fantastical paintings. Nolde's melancholic world exists in extreme, terrifying, tense states — forms are grotesque, and the colors are sharply contrasting and saturated. Through cracks in ordinary reality crawl phantasmagorical creatures with horns, claws, and masquerade grimaces. Even Nolde's watercolor landscapes are stripped of transparency and filled with dense layers of anxious hues: towering ominous skies and heavy, dense sea waves.

At the age of 17 he went to Schleswig, to a school of applied arts — learning wood carving and some drawing, decorating furniture, and even restoring church altars.

As the son of a farmer from Nolde, Emil saw as many countries, lands, and peoples as few of his contemporaries could even list. In 1913, he joined an ethnographic expedition to German New Guinea, traveling through Russia, Japan, China, and various Asian countries — bringing back more than 80 paintings from his journey.

Nolde did not call himself an Expressionist and often laughed at this journalistic term. He always insisted: «I am simply a German artist». A mystical, mythological, emotional connection to land, history, and the cultural "energy field" was for him a source of strength and self-identity.

We have selected 90 paintings created by Nolde between 1907 and 1951 for publication for several reasons:

• This period covers both his formative years and artistic maturity, showcasing the full range of his creative exploration.
• The works reflect key themes of the era — from mysticism to revolutionary changes in society and art.
• The paintings possess high aesthetic and investment value — this is art that continues to inspire and astonish.

The gallery presents the most significant works of Nolde — from early expressionist experiments to mature canvases created in the final years of his life. Paintings are arranged chronologically, allowing viewers to trace the evolution of his style and emotional range. Each canvas serves as a testament to the artist’s personal drama and unyielding will to express himself. We have gathered high-quality reproductions to convey the spirit of the originals.

Emil Nolde - Winter

1907, 73 × 88 cm

Emil Nolde - Children Dancing Wildly

1909, 73 × 88 cm

Emil Nolde - Pfingsten

1909

Emil Nolde - Brücke im Sumpf

1910, 73 × 89 cm

Emil Nolde - Dance Around the Golden Calf

1910, 88 × 105 cm

Emil Nolde - Friesenhauser

1910, 65 × 82 cm

Emil Nolde - Herbstmeer XI

1910, 70 × 90 cm

Emil Nolde - Im Nachtcafé

1910, 78 × 63 cm

Emil Nolde - Kleiner Dampfer

1910, 34 × 28 cm

Emil Nolde - Meer bei Alsen

1910, 72 × 88 cm

Emil Nolde - Sailing Boat in Wind

1910, 94 × 109 cm

Emil Nolde - Schiff im Dock

1910, 56 × 70 cm

Emil Nolde - Schlepper auf der Elbe

1910, 71 × 89 cm

Emil Nolde - Qualmende Dampfer

1910, 57 × 71 cm

Emil Nolde - Herbstmeer

1911, 73 × 89 cm

Emil Nolde - Herbstmeer

1911, 74 × 89 cm

Emil Nolde - Moulin

1911, 59 × 78 cm

Emil Nolde - Candle Dancers

1912, 100 × 86 cm

Emil Nolde - Children and Friendly Monsters

1912, 73 × 88 cm

Emil Nolde - Crucifixion

1912, 220 × 193 cm

Emil Nolde - Meer III

1913, 87 × 100 cm

Emil Nolde - Mother and Child

1913, 70 × 56 cm

Emil Nolde - Bewegte See

1914, 73 × 88 cm

Emil Nolde - Segler und ein kleiner Dampfer

1914, 73 × 88 cm

Emil Nolde - Tropensonne

1914, 71 × 104 cm

Emil Nolde - Das Begräbnis

1915, 87 × 117 cm

Emil Nolde - Nach Sonnenuntergang

1915, 86 × 100 cm

Emil Nolde - Einzug in Jerusalem

1915

Emil Nolde - Raving Woman

1915, 77 × 104 cm

Emil Nolde - Red Evening Sky

1915, 86 × 101 cm

Emil Nolde - South Sea Island

1915, 87 × 100 cm

Emil Nolde - Südsee Landschaft

1915, 73 × 88 cm

Emil Nolde - Indische Tänzerin

1917, 86 × 100 cm

Emil Nolde - Women and a Pierrot

1917, 100 × 86 cm

Emil Nolde - Blaues Meer

1918, 55 × 69 cm

Emil Nolde - Meer am Abend

1919

Emil Nolde - Begegnung am Strand

1920, 86 × 100 cm

Emil Nolde - Seaweed (Meerweib)

1922, 86 × 100 cm

Emil Nolde - Dune

1923, 48 × 31 cm

Emil Nolde - Seltsame

1923, 31 × 42 cm

Emil Nolde - Autumn Evening

1924, 73 × 100 cm

Emil Nolde - Landscape Petersen

1924, 73 × 106 cm

Emil Nolde - Landschaft mit Regenwolke

1925, 73 × 88 cm

Emil Nolde - Landschaft mit ruhenden Kühen

1925, 73 × 88 cm

Emil Nolde - Herbstwolken Friesland

1929, 73 × 106 cm

Emil Nolde - Wiesenbach

1929

Emil Nolde - Trio

1929, 23 × 17 cm

Emil Nolde - Sky and Sea

1930

Emil Nolde - Kleines Meerbild

1939, 57 × 71 cm

Emil Nolde - Spätwerk beginnt

1940

Emil Nolde - Hohe Wogen

1940, 67 × 87 cm

Emil Nolde - Frühmorgenflug

1940

Emil Nolde - Huldigung

1947, 106 × 86 cm

Emil Nolde - Marschhof

1947, 67 × 88 cm

Emil Nolde - Meer

1947, 67 × 88 cm

Emil Nolde - Meer III

1947, 67 × 84 cm

Emil Nolde - Hohe Sturzwelle (Störtzee)

1948, 68 × 88 cm

Emil Nolde - Storm Cloud

1948

Emil Nolde - Oppressive Setting Sun

1949

Emil Nolde - Windiger Nachmittag

1949, 68 × 89 cm

Emil Nolde - Light Breaking Through

1950, 68 × 88 cm

Emil Nolde - Veiled Sun

1950, 68 × 88 cm

Emil Nolde - Evening Autumn Sea

1951, 68 × 88 cm

This gallery features Nolde's flower paintings. Flowers, especially sunflowers, occupy a special place in the artist’s oeuvre. Bright, vivid, seemingly bursting with inner color, they became symbols of resistance — these were among the works he created during the ban on his artistic practice.

Emil Nolde - Blumengarten

1908

Emil Nolde - Forest

1909, 63 × 78 cm

Emil Nolde - Irises

1915, 73 × 89 cm

Emil Nolde - Königskerzen

1915, 74 × 89 cm

Emil Nolde - Blue and Violet Flowers

1916

Emil Nolde - Women in a Flower Garden

1916

Emil Nolde - Sunflowers

1920

Emil Nolde - Flower Garden

1922

Emil Nolde - Sunflower

1928, 73 × 89 cm

Emil Nolde - Sonnenblume

1928, 73 × 88 cm

Emil Nolde - Large Sunflowers

1928, 73 × 88 cm

Emil Nolde - Iris und Stiefmutterchen

1929, 73 × 87 cm

Emil Nolde - Sunflowers

1932, 73 × 88 cm

Emil Nolde - Glowing Sunflowers

1936, 88 × 67 cm

Emil Nolde - Sonnenblumen mit Fuchsschwanz

1937, 68 × 89 cm

Emil Nolde - Large Poppies

1942, 73 × 89 cm

Emil Nolde - Large Sunflower and Clematis

1943, 68 × 88 cm

Emil Nolde - Sonnenblumen im Abendlicht

1943, 73 × 88 cm

Emil Nolde - Sonnenblumen Abend

1944, 67 × 88 cm

Emil Nolde - Dahlien

1948, 88 × 68 cm

Emil Nolde - Leuchtende Sonnenblumen

1950, 69 × 89 cm

Evaluating Nolde’s painting, relying on our own judgment, sense of taste, and the emotional impact of painting, we select four works devoid of the lyrical anxiety that accompanied the artist throughout his creative path. Nolde was right in his assertion:

An artist does not need to know much. It is best if he paints guided by instinct, without thinking of a goal, as when one breathes or walks… Those who learn too much do not possess genius.

It is precisely this conviction of the artist that guides us in selecting his finest works:

Emil Nolde - Autumn Sea

1910, 73 × 89 cm

Emil Nolde - Woman in Strong Light

1912, 60 × 48 cm

Emil Nolde - Moonlit Night

1914, 69 × 89 cm

Emil Nolde - Palmer ved Havet

1914, 70 × 110 cm

Nolde firmly believed in the “superiority of German art.” In 1934, he joined the National Socialist organization of North Schleswig (NSAN), which later became part of the Danish branch of the NSDAP. Nevertheless, his work was classified as “degenerate art,” and in 1941 Nolde was officially banned from painting. He retreated to Seebüll, where he secretly continued to create small watercolors and hid them under the floorboards. Later he referred to them as his “unpainted paintings” — over 1,300 in total.

Anatoli Gostev was inspired by the master's use of color combinations, but not by the subjects or especially the personality of Nolde himself. Although Nolde tried to portray himself as a victim of the regime, he supported many tenets of National Socialism and held antisemitic views. These facts were long suppressed but are now widely known. Here’s what Gostev once said:

In Nolde coexisted a cunning bastard capable of adapting to any situation and a genius artist. But since his paintings sell for millions, perhaps his beliefs no longer matter.

— Anatoli Gostev (1946–2022)