Emil Nolde (1867-1956) was part of the artist's group known as Die Bruke (The Bridge - "linking all the revolutionary and surging elements" ).  Die Bruke may have derived from Nietzche's philosophy of the "rope over an abyss" or the need of humanity to achieve a higher condition.  The Die Bruke artists were drawn together by what they were against in the art that surrounded them, rather than any preconceived concept of what they were for.  Die Bruke attempted to synthesize the quasi-religious implications of the redemptive function of art as an essential element underlying Expressionism.  The group espoused that their art was the vehicle for the renewal of modern humanity, suggesting the linking of past, present, and future, and suggesting human transcendence of mundane existence.  The Die Bruke artists rejected art they perceived as elitist avant-garde and focused on working-class, countryside and industrialized society subjects.

The Die Bruke artists were all deeply involved in printmaking believing it the most direct, hands-on medium to express their creative objectives.  They reveled in the scratchiness of the etched line, the corrosiveness of the acid, and the metallic character of the plate.  Nolde's exact procedures are difficult to determine.  Schiefler described Nolde's uneven application of an asphaltum etching, ground so that the plate would be differently bitten depending on the thickness of the ground.

Of all the Die Bruke artists, Emil Nolde, part of the group between 1906 and 1907, was the most innovative intaglio printmaker.  In 1906, Nolde's first significant religious themes were produced, which continued throughout his life in his goal to revive religious imagery and express deeply felt beliefs.  The perception of a mystical identification of humanity and nature affected Nolde more than any of the other Die Bruke artists and it was much to his amazement that the Nazis later condemned his art as degenerate.  Many consider Nolde the most gifted and powerful exponent of German Expressionism, and his forms and freedom of execution look forward to American Abstract Expressionism.