Sale: 432 / Modern Art I, June 11. 2016 in Munich Lot 368

 

368
Emil Nolde
Sonnenblumen, Um 1930.
Watercolor
Estimate:
€ 80,000 / $ 85,600
Sold:
€ 150,000 / $ 160,500

(incl. surcharge)
Sonnenblumen. Um 1930.
Watercolor.
Signed lower right. On Japon. 46.5 x 34.8 cm (18.3 x 13.7 in), the full sheet.

Accompanied by a photo expertise issued by Prof. Dr. Manfred Reuther on 18 January, 2010. The work is registered at the Ada and Emil Nolde Foundation, Seebüll.

PROVENANCE: Private collection North Rhine-Westphalia.

No matter where Emil Nolde settled, he always arranged a flower garden around his house. With a notion of admiration, his work honors the diverse beauty of nature. He is fascinated by nature's intense colors, which he tries to render without alterations. Light and color disperse the motif's details, however, each blossom's specific remains visible. He did not aim at a realistic illustration of nature, instead he strove to express spiritual conditions. Depite an overall fascination for botany, the sunflower became his preferred floral motif, both in oil as well as in watercolor. In a large image focus, Nolde staged the blossoms so that they seem to go beyond the frame's scope. The blossom leaves become blurred and form a color field that appears like a glowing sun gloriole. Nolde masters the handling of color and form like hardly any other artist of his generation. By merging formal means and expression, his watercolors gain a dimension that makes them equal to his paintings.



368
Emil Nolde
Sonnenblumen, Um 1930.
Watercolor
Estimate:
€ 80,000 / $ 85,600
Sold:
€ 150,000 / $ 160,500

(incl. surcharge)