In recent years Emil Nolde has emerged more and more as the leading figure of the German expressionist movement. There has been a steady rise in the number of publications explaining the meaning of his opus and evaluating it in the climate of his life and times. This present book, is the fruit of more than 20years' research, is the first volume of the complete catalogue raisonne of Nolde's oil paintings. It covers the years 1895-1914 and contains 636 catalogue entries: Volume Two from 1915-1951, will follow in two years' time. The complete catalogue will form the bedrock of all future research into Nolde's work.