Felix Nussbaum: Mastenwald, painting (1935)
Felix Nussbaum: Mastenwald, painting (1935)
Bidding farewell to Ostende, Belgium, Felix Nussbaum painted the painting Mastenwald. The painter had spent several months in the port city in 1935 before moving on to Brussels. The intersecting masts recall artistic tools such as paintbrushes, etching needles and pens. Nussbaum's life in Ostende must have been nearly as confounding as the mess of masts.
As a Jew, he had to fear persecution as a result of the Nuremberg race laws. Finding work was difficult for the emigrant. To secure his livelihood, Nussbaum sold tiles and porcelain plates in shops and adorned them with decorative port motifs. He also employed such touristic motifs in his paintings. Here, however, he shows the boardwalk and port from the perspective of the emigrant. In his pictures, the port becomes a symbol of standstill. Dark, menacing colours take the place of the vibrant colours in the tourists' souvenirs. Mastenwald was Nussbaum's last-ever painting of ships.
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