Emil Nolde Pansies 1908

Throughout his life, Emil Nolde repeatedly returned to the depiction of flowers. Rather than painting carefully arranged floral still lifes in vases, he found inspiration in the blooms of his own gardens. In 1903, he and his wife Ada moved into a fisherman’s house on the Danish island of Alsen, where they created a garden filled with vibrant flowers. Reflecting on this period, Nolde recalled:

“The colors of the flowers drew me in irresistibly, and almost suddenly, I found myself painting. My first small garden paintings emerged. The radiant hues of the flowers, their pure, untainted colors—I loved them. I loved flowers in their fleeting existence: sprouting upwards, blooming, shining, glowing, bringing joy, bending, withering […].” (quoted in: Emil Nolde, Jahre der Kämpfe, Cologne 1985, p. 100).
During his time on Alsen, Nolde created the painting Pansies (1908). He chose a close-up composition to explore the emotional impact of color. Using bold, expressive brushstrokes, he applied thick layers of luminous blues, purples, and yellows—colors so intense that they evoke his connection to the Die Brücke artists’ group.