The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of October 1, 2023

Tanzerinnen (Dancers)

1917

Emil Nolde

(German, 1876–1956)

Germany, 20th century

Woodcut

Delia E. Holden Fund 1960.158

Catalogue raisonné: Schiefler and Mosel 132

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

Before making prints, Emile Nolde worked as a wood-carver, a technique that later informed his woodcuts.

Description

These two swooning female dancers in long, elegant robes express themselves in dramatic but graceful curves, which are matched by Nolde’s vigorous gouging of the block. He combined a richly inked block with embossing, created by printing the block without ink (especially evident on the dancers’ white dresses). Throughout his career, Nolde returned to the theme of the dancer as the embodiment of freedom and expressivity. He knew several renowned avant-garde dancers whose form of modern dance involved elemental poses and free movements, often accompanied only by a drumbeat.

Exhibition history

Year in Review - Nineteen Hundred Sixty. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 30, 1960-January 1, 1961).

The Milieu of Edvard Munch. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 5-June 5, 1977).

German Expressionist Graphics. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (May 7-October 5, 1980).

Paper: The Continuous Thread. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 31-October 24, 1982).

Against the Grain: Woodcuts from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 17-November 9, 2003).

Themes and Variations: Musical Drawings and Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 25-May 17, 2015).

Graphic Discontent: German Expressionism on Paper. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (January 14-May 27, 2018).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1960.158