“In front of nature I took grat joy in the full and rich color tones. But sometimes I was also moved by the most delicate processes [..] through the value and sound of its colors, every picture can spark elation [..] color is power. Strength is life”, noted Emil Nolde at the end of the first decade in his diary-like memorandum “Mein Leben”(Cologne 1993, p. 333). The present work also testifies to this passion. Dahlias and coneflowers are very different as far as their blossoms are concerned, but Nolde still succeeds in creating a splendid bouquet: the thin, grass-like stalks protrude from dense, full-bodied red dahlia blossoms, contrasting with the yellow and blue flowers. Both types of flowers love sunlight, which Nolde stages in the background of the brightly colored flowers. The petals rendered in close-up pulsate in different nuances and unfold that mysterious luminosity that only Nolde can achieve against the neutral background. This watercolor is not only fascinating for its splendid appearance, but also for its provenance. The enchanting floral work has a very interesting biography that begins with the long-standing friendship between the artist Emil Nolde and the museum director Ernst Gosebruch. In the summer of 1909, Gosebruch visited Noldes in Alsen. "Three of my finest exhibitions were at the Essen Kunstverein and at theFolkwang," stated Nolde in "Jahre der Kämpfe". (Emil Nolde, Mein Leben, Cologne 1993, p. 223). Gosebruch used the first exhibition in Essen in 1910 as an opportunity to acquire the painting “lumengarten: Stiefmütterchen” (Flower Garden: Pansy) for the museum collection and the artist gave him a couple of prints to choose from on top. On this occasion he also acquired “Buchsbaungarten” (Boxwood Garden). And Gosebruch remained committed to Nolde: a small presentation of graphic sheets followed in 1911/12, succeeded by an exhibition of paintings in January 1913 and another extensive presentation in 1922. And when the Hagen collection was merged with the Essen Municipal Art Collection - which had also been in existence since 1906 - after the death of Karl Ernst Osthaus in 1921 at the instigation of Ernst Gosebruch, the scope and quality of Nolde's work at Folkwang was expanded once again: “Karl Ernst Osthaus could not have wished for a more subtle successor for his beautiful Folkwang collection”, Nolde sums up in“ Mein Leben. Jahre der Kämpfe”. The first new building of the new Folkwang Museum on Bismarckstrasse opened in July 1927 with the fourth extensive Nolde exhibition on the occasion of the 60th birthday. So Nolde and Gosebruch had a lasting friendship of mutual admiration. When the National Socialists raided the Folkwang Museum in the summer of 1937, and dismissing Ernst Gosebruch in September 1933, the museum was in possession of the largest collection of works by the artist, in total around 500 works. After he had been removed from his post as director Gosebruch moved to Berlin and stayed in contact with Nolde and other artists such as Ernst Wilhelm Nay. The watercolor may have been a present for Gosebruch on the occasion of his 70th birthday in 1942. [MvL]