Lot 343 D

Emil Nolde's chromatic fantasies discovered the greatest possible freedom in floral painting. Here he was able to carry out his ideas with an extremely high degree of abstraction without having to renounce that link to nature which would always signify the foundation of his work. Even if the subject of these images remained the same over the years, each is nonetheless entirely different in expressive terms. The poppy, the iris, the purple coneflower and other flowers - all of them embody not so much botanical studies as individual beings, characters and moods.
The present watercolour, which features poppy and larkspur blooms painted in luminous colours, compellingly demonstrates the elegance with which Nolde was able to realise the transition from the figurative to the abstract in the blurred contours of the watercolour. As if they were trying to imitate the luxuriant splendour of the poppy's tender petals, his watercolour depictions of poppies seem to possess an overflowing, unbounded abundance. Nolde has also painted the brilliantly blue larkspur with an exceptionally wet brush, thus presenting a delicate floral still life of extraordinary quality.