Historical Context

In an attempt to discuss the historical context in which the “Mulatto” was created, I want to first explore some of the important periods in Emil Nolde’s life.

He was born as Emil Hansen in the Prussian Duchy of Schlesweig (part of Denmark since 1920). He was a self-taught artist, pursuing his dream of becoming an independent artist only after he was 31. He attempted to join Stuck’s class in Munich, but was refused. Kandinsky and Klee were students there at the time, and the refusal by the Munich Academy of Fine Arts to accept him as their equal infused Nolde with bitter disappointment that kept him away from academy for the rest of his life. In 1905 Nolde joined the first expressionistic movement in Germany, the famous “Brucke” (“Bridge”) movement group in Dresden. (Benson, 13) He was associated with this group only for 2 years, but it still had a significant influence of his art: it renewed and strengthened his interest in the arts of Africa and Melanesia. (Benson, 13) Benson describes this effect as “Nolde’s forms became more strongly individualized; his fantasy richer, his colors bolder, and more fiery.” (Benson, 13)

“The Mulatto” was painted at a particularly important time in his life: In 1913 his voyage to the South Seas by way of Moscow, Siberia, China, Japan, Java and Burma “introduced many new elements into his work.” (Benson, 14) After his return, his figures became more unusual, fantastic, sometimes even grotesque, and definitely more mask-like. Nolde wrote many years later that his heart “beat faster when he painted a Russian, a Chinaman, a South-Sea Islander or a gypsy.” (Benson, 14)  Although there is nothing specific documented about the creation of “Mulatto”, it is safe to assume that it was painted during his journey, and is the portrait of an unknown, exotic woman.

The most important historical context defining this work is that of German Expressionism. Expressionism was a movement that emerged simultaneously in various cities across Germany as a response to a widespread anxiety about humanity’s increasingly discordant relationship with the world and left an important directional and stylistic mark on many different artistic disciplines. Some famous German expressionist artists were Ernst Barlach, Max Beckmann, Heinrich Campendonk, Lovis Corinth, Otto Dix, Lyonel Feininger, Rudi Feld, Conrad Felixmüller, Heinz Fuchs, George Grosz, Erich Heckel, Vasily Kandinsky, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Paul Klee, Oskar Kokoschka, Georg Kolbe, Käthe Kollwitz, Wilhelm Lehmbruck, August Macke, Jeanne Mammen, Franz Marc, Ludwig Meidner, Otto Mueller, Max Oppenheimer, Max Pechstein, Christian Rohlfs, Egon Schiele, and Karl Schmidt-Rotluff. (MOMA) The artists of early 20^th century were preoccupied with Primitive Art. This preoccupation was prevalent in the works by Brucke group artists. They were mainly attracted to its spontaneous and uninhibited nature.

It might be helpful to contextualize this painting within the Nazi-censored art world of the day as well. Although this painting was made two decades before the Nazi movement took off, it is closely related thematically. Since Hitler rejected all forms of modernism as “degenerate art,” Nolde’s work was officially condemned by the Nazi regime. Although he was initially sympathetic to National Socialism, Nazis nevertheless confiscated 1,052 works, more than from any other artist. He was prohibited by Nazis from painting in 1941, but continued secretly in watercolor until bombs destroyed his studio in Berlin and the archive of his prints in 1944. This painting can be read as the epitome of all that the Nazis despised: she demonstrates what mixing races will produce and supplies pictorial evidence supporting the necessity of keeping German blood pure. (Bradley, Chapter 5)

All these different grounds of historical and biographical contextualization point in one direction: there is a complex network of influences shaping Nolde’s work. I am looking forward to discovering more about these influences.

Adolf Hitler and Adolf Ziegler visiting the "Degenerate Art" Exhibition. 1937.

Selected Bibliography:

Ackley, Clifford S., Timothy O. Benson, and Victor Carlson. Nolde: The Painter's Prints. Exh. cat. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1995.

Benson, E. M. "Emil Nolde." Parnassus 5.1 (1933): 12,14+25.

Bradley, William S. Emil Nolde and German Expressionism: A Prophet in His Own Land. Vol. no. 52. Ann Arbor, Mich.: UMI Research Press, 1986.

German Expressionism: Works from the Collection. 2012. Museum of Modern Art.

< http://www.moma.org/explore/collection/ge/index>

Moeller, Magdalena M., and Manfred Reuther, eds. Emil Nolde: Druckgraphik aus der Sammlung der Nolde-Stiftung Seebüll. Exh. cat. Berlin: Brücke-Museum, 1999.