Friday, April 06, 2012

Crucifixion by Emil Nolde

from ArtyFactory:The Die Brücke manifesto was an open invitation to other artists with similar values to join the group. Emil Nolde, whose painting was following a similar path to Die Brücke, joined in 1906. However, Nolde only remained a member for a few months as the community lifestyle did not live up to his expectations. He was older and had a more conservative nature than the young Die Brücke activists.
Nolde's favourite subjects were dark brooding seascapes that recalled the landscape of his youth and biblical themes that reflected his strict religious upbringing. He was fascinated by the expressive intensity of the Isenheim Altarpiece and created his own version: a nine section polyptych of the life of Christ. The central Crucifixion panel above, obviously based on Grünewald's masterpiece, is a classic piece Expressionist painting - a stylistic fusion of primitive drawing with the exaggerated colour of the Fauves, held together by a German Gothic composition.

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