Product Description

"Unpainted Pictures" is the title of a series of fascinating watercolors painted by Emil Nolde from 1938 through 1945. Nolde created these works in the seclusion of his own home in Seebüll, after his works had been confiscated by the Nazis and he himself had been forbidden to paint. He lent many of them to friends for safekeeping, in order to protect himself and his art from Gestapo raids. These small, free, imaginative works were ''unpainted'' in the sense that they did not officially exist and were not supposed to exist--not only that, but Nolde hoped to expand on them at a later date. Nolde never offered any of these watercolors for sale, and today this collection--which has become, for many, the summary and epitome of his work--resides at the Nolde Foundation in Seebüll. All of the 104 watercolors in the series are presented here, along with a kind of diary, consisting of dated notes, thoughts, questions, and dreams, which together form a record of the period in which the "Unpainted Pictures" were being created. Gorgeous, diverse, and quietly moving, these "Unpainted Pictures" continue to be nothing short of a revelation.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #319962 in Books
• Published on: 2001-01-15
• Released on: 2001-02-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 160 pages

Customer Reviews

Unpainted Pictures
Nolde, though sympathetic to the Nazi Party, was included among the artists who were exhibited in the "Degenerate Art Show". He was also banned from painting throughout the war which he spent in the north German town of Seebüll. Being the artist he was he was unable to halt the creative process and began to paint watercolor pictures on small torn sheets of paper - these paintings, the "unpainted pictures" are the subject of this book. The paintings are quite beautiful and the viewer can see how Nolde played with the rich watercolors to create pictures of people, fantastic portraits, and landscapes and seascapes. They are heavily expressionistic as Nolde used dark colors and india ink to delineate figures, give depth, and provide shadow. At their best the pictures are akin to stained glass with a backlighting sun emphasizing the rich colors. If you're a fan of expressionism it's a must book to have. For an art historian there there is a concise text which explores Nolde's relationship with the Nazi Party and those Nazis (Goebbels among them) who attempted to intercede on his behalf.

I Adore This Book
I found the images in this little book breathtaking. The color and expression was so exciting and the history was fascinating. This tiny little volume is packed with beautiful images of Nolde watercolors. I'm so glad I found it.

gorgeous watercolors
it is a really beautiful book, in spite of being small, contains watercolors of this great artist, gorgeous, very good quality of illustration, that I make on paper Japanese, in small format, all are like small jewels, that display the great colorista that was. I am enchanted with the book.