Young Couple 1935

Emil Nolde’s ‘Young Couple’ is like a fever dream rendered in watercolour – all vivid blues, reds, and greens. You can almost feel Nolde splashing the pigment, letting it bleed and mingle on the page, as if trying to capture a fleeting emotion. I imagine Nolde fixated on the couple's intensity, their closeness. The way he's painted their faces, with those stark lines and intense gazes, is less about likeness and more about something deeper, something almost spiritual. I'm reminded of Kirchner and Heckel, other painters who understood that color could convey feeling. Look at the woman's hair, that fiery red against the blue of her face - it's like a shock of energy. And the way their hands are intertwined suggests a bond, a silent understanding. Nolde’s like a conduit, channeling the couple’s aura onto paper for us to bear witness. You can feel their love.