Until 9th January 2009, the Grand Palais in Paris will be hosting the biggest retrospective dedicated to the controversial artist Emil Nolde (1867-1956) who was rediscovered in all his expressive verve after the Nazis censured his works forbidding him to paint. It is a rich exhibition featuring 90 paintings and other 70 works, between watercolours, drawings and engravings.  The German painter, whose real name was Emil Hansen, was born in the German village of Nolde in the region of Schleswig Holstein at the boundary with Denmark. He later approached the art of painting, as he first started to work in a furniture factory to become a wood carver and illustrator.  After staying in Switzerland where he taught ornamental drawing, he got to know big cities like Munich and Berlin where, frequenting museums, he started to appreciate ancient art and some artists like Rembrandt, Daumier and Manet.

Article translated by Amritee Mahabir

It was not long ago that the German industrialist, Reinhold Wurth, discovered his great passion. It was the start of the seventies and a promising young man was approaching the world of art, showing interest in the german painter Emil Nolde, in German expressionism, to then push himself towards contemporary art, but also turning his eye to German Renaissance art.