"Fire Lillies and Bluebells", c. 1930

The flower paintings start around 1918 and stay in Emil Nolde's work almost continuously until a few years before his death. No other motif accommodated his colour fantasies as much and left him such freedom of expression than flowers in bloom. In creating almost "abstract" paintings, he could implement his vision of musicality and absolute impact of colour, without losing the connection with nature which had always been the premise of his work. In his later period, he singled out certain kinds of plants or even emphasized the individuality of single plants. Thus, he depicted the flowers as living individuals and created veritable portraits.