You speak of errors.. .Men who are so correct and flawless are mostly boring; small weaknesses can be loved.. .One chief characteristic of the etchings gives me much pleasure: because out of them streams forth a tremendous life.

in two letters, to Hans Fehr, 23 October and 22 November, 1905; as quoted by Hans Fehr, in: 'Aus Leben und Werkstatt', 'Das Kunstblatt' no. 7 (1919), pp. 205-6; as quoted in 'The Revival of Printmaking in Germany', I. K. Rigby; in German Expressionist Prints and Drawings - Essays Vol 1.; published by Museum Associates, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California & Prestel-Verlag, Germany, 1986, p. 5

Nolde described in 1905 the role his experiments played in etching - in generating a subjective imagery and unorthodox surfaces that unlocked his own inner world