Candle Dancers 1912

Emil Nolde made Candle Dancers with oil on canvas, but when is anyone's guess! The painting is a real dance of color and movement, isn’t it? The way Nolde layers those reds and oranges, it's almost like you can feel the heat of the candles. I love how you can see the energy in his brushstrokes, especially in the dancers’ skirts, the way he builds these thick layers of blues, greens and blacks. Nolde really lets the paint do its thing, smearing and building up textures that add to the sense of motion. The pink of the dancers skin is also interesting. Nolde has used the pink to provide more definition between the two dancers, whose faces are obscured. The overall effect is kind of wild and raw. Nolde, like Kirchner, was part of Die Brücke, so you see these expressionist influences come through. Both artists use expressive color and abstracted form in their work. Nolde's painting feels like a celebration of life, with all its mess and beauty.