Emil Nolde
b. 1867
d. 1956
Emil Nolde (born Hans Emil Hansen; 7 August 1867 – 13 April 1956) was born in Nolde, a town which is now on the Danish side of the Danish-German border. In his late thirties, he changed his surname to Nolde. While Vincent Van Gogh is often cited as an influence on Nolde’s art, he was also intent on creating a style of painting that was specifically German. From 1906 to 1908, he was a member of Die Brücke (The Bridge) group of expressionist artists, but he preferred on the whole not to be associated with a group.
Thirty-three works by Nolde were included in the Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art) exhibition of 1937, more than by any other artist. During his lifetime he had over a thousand works of art were confiscated, and he was forbidden to paint by the Nazi party in 1941. However, Nolde remained a member of the Nazi party until 1945.