Image: Emil Nolde, „Zwei am Meeresstrand“ (Ausschnitt), Gemälde 1903, © Nolde Stiftung Seebüll
Emil Nolde’s 1931 painting ‘Herbstblumen (A)’ is currently on view at the Nolde Museum Seebüll in Germany as part of the institution’s 70th annual exhibition. The comparatively rare flower still life, held by the Nolde Foundation Seebüll on a long-term loan from a private collection, is included in ‘Emil Nolde – Beziehungen zwischen Menschen, Natur und Kunst’, which runs through 31 October 2026.
The work brings together sunflowers, gladioli and dahlias grown in Nolde’s garden at Seebüll. According to the museum, the flowers were cut from the garden, arranged in a basket and then transferred by Nolde onto canvas. The painting therefore connects the cultivated surroundings of his home and studio with one of the recurring subjects of his art.
Flowers occupy an important place within Nolde’s broader artistic world, alongside landscapes, seas and depictions of people. The museum describes ‘Herbstblumen (A)’ as a relatively uncommon example of an arranged floral still life in his oeuvre. Its presentation in the annual exhibition places the privately loaned work among paintings, watercolours and graphic works drawn from the foundation’s holdings and the artist’s estate.
The exhibition examines the relationship between people, nature and art in Nolde’s work. The museum presents his images of flowers, animals, landscapes, seas and figures not simply as observations of the visible world, but as expressions of an emotional engagement with it. The selection includes 37 works being shown in Seebüll for the first time, alongside better-known pieces and less frequently presented works from the estate.
Emil Nolde, born in 1867 and deceased in 1956, is identified by the museum as a major Expressionist. Since 1957, the Nolde Museum Seebüll has presented a changing annual exhibition drawn from the artist’s legacy, showing selections of oil paintings, watercolours and prints. The museum is housed in Nolde’s former home and studio at Seebüll, where the surrounding garden remains part of the site’s historical context.
The 2026 exhibition also marks the 70th anniversary of the Stiftung Seebüll Ada und Emil Nolde. Nolde died on 13 April 1956, and the foundation says that the couple’s joint will was opened after his death, leading to recognition of the foundation that has preserved the site and the artist’s legacy for seven decades. The exhibition is open daily from 10am to 6pm, from 1 March through 31 October 2026, at the Nolde Museum Seebüll in Seebüll.
