Sea with red clouds and dark sailors

Details

With a photographic expertise by Professor Dr Manfred Reuther, Ada and Emil Nolde Foundation, Seebüll, dated 23 December 2008 (copy).

Provenance:

Private collection, Mannheim;

Grisebach, Berlin 27 May 2011, Lot 7;

Private collection, Europe.

Description

– Colourful sea view in bright complementary colours

– Atmospheric evening mood with sophisticated reflection of the red cloud formations

– Abstract effect by dispensing with contour and internal lines and few staffage elements

Nolde’s works are not only characterised by the magnificent North Frisian marshland with its vast landscape, high skies and remote Frisian farms, but also by the omnipresent sea. The play of shapes and colours of the sea and the sky, whether wildly moving water and dramatic towers of clouds or calm evening light over a calm sea, interest Nolde: “I find it beautiful because there are so many bright colours in the sky: Yellow, orange, darker red, pink, rose, light blue and dark blue. And that this is often reflected in the waves. And that there is also orange from the sky in the foam. And that there is also black in the sea.”

The present watercolour radiates a remarkable luminosity and intensity, which Nolde achieves through the use of the two complementary colours orange-red and blue. In contrast to earlier watercolours, Nolde does not use black ink lines to delineate the boundaries here, but allows the colours to flow directly into one another. In our composition, the artist also dispenses almost entirely with staffage elements and concentrates on the play of colours in the sky and the water. Only three black brushstrokes indicate three sailing ships. These black sailing ships are heading towards the horizon, which divides the sheet into a sky and a sea plane as a yellow line.

For Nolde, the ship is a symbol of travel, adventure and discovery, but also of danger and instability. In his watercolours, he often uses ships as a metaphor for human life and its challenges, which can be unpredictable and dangerous.