The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Greyscale print of nude figure with a light skin tone viewed from above, laying on their stomach. They cut diagonally across the paper, with their feet in the upper left corner, and elbow propping up their head in the lower right, hair obscuring their hand and face. Visible strokes create the figure. The dark background directly surrounding their body is speckled and green tinged.

Diagonal Nude

1908

Emil Nolde

(German, 1876–1956)
Germany, 20th century
etching and aquatint
Dudley P. Allen Fund 1974.44
Catalogue raisonné: Schiefler and Mosel I.95
Location: Not on view

Description

This depiction of a nude is unusual; seen from above, her body bisects the plate diagonally in a bold, abstract way that is counter to the conventional ideal nude displayed frontally, lying on her side. Instead of using the traditional copper plate, Nolde used iron, which enhanced the corrosive appearance of the green color. He also unevenly laid the etching ground on the plate, resulting in the irregular tone in the background. The grainy, streaky marks around the woman’s body were drawn with a blunt point rather than the more typical sharp etching needle. His technique embraced the unpredictability and spontaneity of the etching process.
  • Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1974.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 62, no. 3 (March 1975): 62–102. Reproduced: p. 82; Mentioned: p. 100, no. 92 www.jstor.org
  • Graphic Discontent: German Expressionism on Paper. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (January 14-May 27, 2018).
    Eastward from the Rhine: Romanticism to Abstraction, 1800-1925. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 12-September 9, 1984).
    James Ensor, Edvard Munch, and Emil Nolde: An Exhibition. The Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, Regina, Canada (organizer) (March 7-April 13, 1980); Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Canada (May 3-June 15, 1980); Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Canada (July 4-August 17, 1980).
    Year in Review: 1974. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 11-April 6, 1975).
  • {{cite web|title=Diagonal Nude|url=false|author=Emil Nolde|year=1908|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1974.44