Scoundrels (Lumpen)

1898

Leaves his post to become a free artist

In 1898, at the age of thirty-one, Nolde left his post as a drawing teacher at the school of the Museum of Industrial and Applied Arts in St Gallen, where he had worked since 1892, to pursue at last his dream of becoming an independent artist.

1899 · Uddannelse

Académie Julian

1902

Marries Ada Vilstrup and moves to Berlin

In 1902 Nolde married the Danish actress Ada Vilstrup (1879–1946) and moved to Berlin, where he met the collector Gustav Schiefler and the artist Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, both of whom would later advocate his work.

1906

A turn from Impressionism to religious subjects

In 1906 Nolde, who had grown up in a small religious community near the German-Danish border and had read the whole Bible, turned from an Impressionist manner to religious subjects stressing the emotion of the moment, bright colours and two-dimensionality; in his early religious works (1900–1904) he had not yet found his own style and followed models such as Millet and Daumier.

1906–1907

Meets Edvard Munch

During his time with Die Brücke Nolde met Edvard Munch.

1909

Poisoned water: a brush with death

In 1909, at the age of forty-two, Nolde nearly died after drinking poisoned water; the experience hastened his turn to religious painting.