The art of an artist must be his own art. It is... always a continuous chain of little inventions, little technical discoveries of one's own, in one's relation to the tool, the material and the colors. (Emile Nolde)
Artist Emil Nolde is called a German Expressionist but in keeping with the above quote, his art was pretty much his own. He was known for his intense use of color and occasionally unusual themes, although sometimes he just painted lovely flowers like these red dahlias. Many of the flower watercolors were done during the Nazi years when Nolde had been forbidden to produce artwork by the Hitler regime. He painted anyway, in secret, and though the Nazis had labelled him and his art "degenerate," after World War II Nolde saw his reputation restored and the secret paintings -- or "Unpainted Pictures" as he called them -- were made public. He died in 1956 at the age of 88, and his former home in Seebul, Germany is now a museum centered around his art and life.
