Emil Nolde – Vetter der Tiefe – mit der Korrespondenz Nolde – Klee

Published and annotated for the first time – the Nolde–Klee correspondence! The book, whose title takes up a characterisation of his artist friend Nolde handed down from Paul Klee, is published to accompany the exhibition “Emil Nolde” at the Zentrum Paul Klee and contains, alongside reproductions of the works presented there, the first publication of the correspondence between the Nolde and the Klee couples. The encounter with the foreign always seemed to inspire Emil Nolde’s artistic work. Accordingly, his oeuvre contains manifold references to the grotesque, the fantastic and the exotic – a fascination he shared with Paul Klee. Grotesques allowed both of them to comment critically on contemporary events. In Nolde’s case, fantastical depictions spring from a serious play with the unknown and the uncanny and thus occupy a central position in his work, whereas for Paul Klee the realm of spirits, demons and other hybrid creatures seems rather to serve edification as an exciting parallel world. For Nolde, as for Klee and many of their contemporaries, exotic motifs formed a new and inspiring vocabulary of forms that helped to burst the corset of European tradition. The present volume, which shows works by Nolde that have hitherto stood somewhat at the margins of the art world’s interest yet were of great importance to the artist and therefore deserve our full attention, also publishes and annotates for the first time the surviving correspondence between Emil and Ada Nolde and Paul and Lily Klee. This appraisal of the written exchange between the two artist friends and their families closes a gap in research and brings to light previously unknown aspects of a mutually inspiring friendship.

Exhibition:
Zentrum Paul Klee Bern, 17/11/2018 – 3/3/2019