Emil Nolde, Mask Still Life III, 1911, oil on canvas, 28 3/4 x 30 1/2 inches, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Kansas City, Photo by Breve Storia del Cinema via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.
As an Expressionist artist, Emil Nolde, the German Danish painter and printmaker, attempted to convey subjective and emotional content in his paintings through intense subject matter, thick brushwork, and bold color.
Nolde intended for this painting of masks and a shrunken head to be macabre and frightening.
Perhaps even more disturbing is the fact that Nolde was a Nazi supporter early on. He felt betrayed and disappointed when Hitler condemned all modern art as “degenerate art.” During World War II, Nolde stayed in Germany but was forbidden by the Nazis to create art or teach at universities… but he painted many watercolors anyway.
Happy Halloween from The Art Minute.
