News - Sally visits Germany, and the home of the painter, Emil Nolde

Reflections on a strange journey to one of the less-explored parts of Germany, and the home of the painter, Emil Nolde

During the Spring of 2006 I set off on a short, but long wished-for expedition to visit the North Sea coast of Germany and to visit the German Expressionist Museum and home of Emil Nolde in Seebuhl.

Emil Nolde (1867-1956) was one of the first Expressionists, a member of Die Brücke, and is considered to be one of the great watercolour painters of the 20th century. I have admired his work for many years. He is known for his vigorous brushwork and expressive choice of colours. Golden yellows and deep reds appear frequently in his work, giving a luminous quality to otherwise somber tones. His watercolours include vivid, brooding storm-scapes and brilliant florals.

Having visited I know why I did not get there sooner. Access to the museum, which is on the border between Denmark and Germany, is not very easy!

The first bit was fine – I flew to Lubeck airport on a 99p Ryanair ticket and caught a bus to Hamburg. The rest was fraught! I nearly missed the train at Hamburg because the bus was ten minutes late arriving and there was only 20 minutes margin anyway to get from the bus to the train. At Hamburg station there were no ticket offices with people, only ticket machines that I was unsure how to use.

My first stop was Husum, a small fishing port on the North Sea. The weather was not too promising. I set off to explore out along the dykes. Four hardy "wrinklies" were swimming in the sea! Apparently they swim every day until there is ice! As well as hardy swimmers there were bicyclists, their coloured jackets adding interest and focus to several on-the-spot sketches I made. The landscape was lush and rich, the ploughed earth an intense dark brown and soon an "Emil Nolde" sunset exploded in the sky – the golden yellow sun spilling out from behind purple clouds, the land already dark. In Husum there are three art galleries, and one of these, Galerie Tobien, Neustadt 10, 25813 Husum (www.galerie-tobien.de) now displays my paintings in a corner.

The interest for me in this rough sketch is in the subtle tones of grey. Oyster grey sky, and pale pink apricot sky: the sea gun metal with a yellow/grey cloud reflection.

I arrived at the Nolde Museum, once his home, early in the morning. It is in the back of beyond – there are just two buses a day. The Nolde Museum is surrounded by absolute quiet – no car or train sounds, but just the deep countryside.

It was grey and damp, a landscape of grey, lemon yellow and green. The fields were flat as far as the eye could see into the mist. It was peaceful and a suitable place for contemplation. There was a deep silence. I went for a walk in the misty, murky countryside wearing many layers – all the clothes I had with me!

Back in the Museum, the larger Nolde paintings were displayed in heavy wooden frames, but the treasures for me were the small "unpainted pictures" that Emil Nolde produced when he was forbidden to paint by the Nazi regime and his work was labelled as degenerate. I found the small paintings vivid, vibrant, delicate, evocative, voluptuous, luscious, quirky, and mouth-watering, all things I would like my own work to be! The "unpainted pictures" were full of punch and saturated colour.

I like the "Nolde" colours in the Sylt sketch – deep, rich and sumptuous, waves edged with gold under lilac purple cloud and the sea very dark.

From Seebuhl I went to the island of Sylt where everyone seems to drive a BMW, but where there is silver sand, sand dunes and as if on cue, "Emil Nolde" weather and sunsets of luscious orange and red and wild storm clouds and sea.

One day I found the Hof gallery in Keitum. This is an offshoot of the largest gallery in Sylt. On the off-chance, I asked whether they took foreign artists. They liked my silk paintings and also my seascapes, and I am proud to say some of them are now exhibited there.

I wandered to the North Sea side of Sylt where dunes and a white sand beach curved away as far as the eye could see. I made sketches and notes, took photos and tried to catch the magic.


Dune grass and the North sea, Sylt	Late evening stroll, Sylt

My next journey was to Amrun and Fohr, by boat. On the way we passed a sand bar with seals. Sleek and slender Artic terns skimmed wave tops. Passing Amrun there were marvellous sea and sand-scapes with vast skies and fly-pasts of black and white geese.

I later returned to Sylt where the cloud was grey on the horizon. Along the beach the rollers disappeared in a haze of spray. The people walking along the beach were lit by the sun making them stand out against the sky and surf. Which ever way I looked there was magic.

A red flag on the beach warned about not swimming because of the strong undercurrents. Looking out to sea, the waves were already a deep, rich blue-green with the wave tips edged silver by the sun and the waves crowding unbroken with white foam to the horizon. Above the waves lurked dark grey clouds bringing the next rainstorm, much more dramatic than a cloudless sky. Shades of Emil Nolde again!


Bicycling by the Sea at Sylt	Seagull Beach Patrol

These are two of the finished pictures from my visit to Sylt. Many of the pictures from the visit are for sale – please phone or email if you would like to see them.

For more information about Emil Nolde try the following links:

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