Emil Nolde: Unpainted Pictures

Unpainted Pictures is the title of a fascinating watercolors series painted by Emil Nolde from 1938 through 1945. Nolde created these works in the seclusion of his own home in Seebll, 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–also, Nolde hoped to expand on them at a later date. He 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 Seebll. All of the 104 watercolors in the series are presented here, along with a journal, consisting of dated notes, thoughts, questions and dreams, which forms 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.