Oskar Nerlinger

Oskar Nerlinger, 1930

Oskar Nerlinger (1893-1969) was a German painter, draftsman and graphic artist. He worked also with the pseudonym Nilgreen. He studied in Berlin with Emil Orlík. He was the leader of the group « Die Abstrakten ». He was a member of the Communist party and of the ASSO (Association of Revolutionary Artists) which is one reason why he emigrated to East Germany after the war (in 1951).

Strangely, some Communist artists were allowed to practice their profession under the Nazi régime. Nerlinger was one of them, and he was even allowed to expose some water-colours at Munich Great German Art between 1939 and 1941 (information from Wikipedia). The reason appears to be that they adapted their style to the realism that the régime liked, and that they hold a discreet profile. They were most often not allowed to exhibit but they could go on selling to private collectors, especially portraits and landscapes. Apparently, foreign minister Von Ribbentrop commissioned secretly some portraits to a degenerate-labelled artist as notorious as Otto Dix.