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Basic data
Max Beckmann was a German painter, graphic artist and sculptor who became known for his individual style of Expressionism and New Objectivity. His works are often characterized by intense colors and symbolic depictions.
- Name: Max Beckmann
- Date of birth: February 12, 1884
- Place of birth: Leipzig, Germany
- Date of death: December 27, 1950
- Place of death: New York City, USA
- Nationality: German
- Art style: Expressionism, New Objectivity
- Known works: “The Night”, “Self-Portrait with Horn”, “Family Portrait”
- Techniques: Painting, printmaking, sculpture
- Influences: Symbolism, Renaissance art, Vincent van Gogh
- Exhibitions: Exhibitions at the Tate Modern, MoMA, and Städel Museum
- Special features: Known for his metaphorical, gloomy works, often critical of the political and social situation of his time
Max Beckmann left behind an extensive body of work that had a lasting influence on 20th century art.
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Biography
Childhood & youth
Max Beckmann was born on February 12, 1884 in Leipzig, Germany. He grew up in a middle-class family, but showed a strong independence and passion for art at an early age. Beckmann's artistic talent was already apparent in his youth and he decided early on to pursue a career as a painter. After the death of his father, when Beckmann was only ten years old, the family moved to Braunschweig, where Beckmann took his first drawing lessons.
In 1900, at the age of 16, Beckmann began his training at the Weimar Art School, one of the most renowned art academies in Germany. His early works were strongly influenced by the Old Masters and Impressionism. Themes of light and movement as well as the depiction of emotions and people still play a central role here. During this time, Beckmann also traveled to Paris, where he studied the works of French avant-garde artists, who broadened his artistic horizons.
Early career and the First World War
Beckmann moved to Berlin in the early 1900s and quickly became part of the German art scene. His early works show a clear affinity with Impressionism and Art Nouveau, but he soon developed his own unmistakable style. Beckmann's paintings from this period show a deep engagement with human existence and suffering, often in dramatic and monumental compositions.
The First World War marked a turning point in Beckmann's life and artistic development. He volunteered for medical service at the front in 1914. The experiences of the war, especially the violence and suffering, shook Beckmann to the core and led to a physical and mental breakdown. After his discharge from military service, his artistic style changed radically: the clear, elegant forms of his earlier works gave way to a darker, more expressive pictorial language. From then on, Expressionism became the defining characteristic of his art, which increasingly featured distorted and grotesque depictions of the human figure.
Beckmann's works from the early 1920s, such as “Night” (1918-1919), show the profound influence of the war on his work. The depiction of violence, trauma and human cruelty became a central theme of his art. These paintings are characterized by intense colors, dramatic perspectives and an oppressive atmosphere. Beckmann not only reflects individual suffering here, but also the collective fears and insecurities of the post-war period.
Weimar Republic and artistic success
In the 1920s, Beckmann experienced a phase of artistic and professional success. He became a professor at the Städelschule in Frankfurt and established himself as one of the leading representatives of German New Objectivity, a movement that combined Expressionism with realistic, often sharp-sighted social criticism. During this period, Beckmann painted portraits, city scenes and mythological depictions that show a strong examination of modern life and the moral and existential issues of his time.
His monumental triptychs, created in the 1920s, reflect his preference for large, dramatic compositions that take up religious and symbolic themes. Works such as “Departure” (1932-1933) and “The Temptation” (1936-1937) show Beckmann's preoccupation with human fate, death and the supernatural. These works, often in a mixture of realism and symbolic elements, establish a link between ancient and Christian mythology and modern society.
Beckmann's art at this time is both a deeply personal reflection and a social commentary. His portraits of friends, artists and intellectuals show the tension and inner conflict of people living in the turbulent Weimar Republic. His paintings capture the uncertainties, chaos and fractures of the modern world and stand in contrast to the ideality of earlier art movements.
Persecution by the National Socialists and exile
Beckmann's life changed radically when the National Socialists seized power in 1933. His art was branded “degenerate” by the new rulers. Many of his works were removed from German museums and Beckmann was dismissed from his teaching position in Frankfurt. In 1937, several of his works were shown in the propaganda exhibition “Degenerate Art”, which deeply shocked him. Beckmann, who had already felt alienated and isolated since the late 1920s, now felt compelled to go into exile.
Beckmann left Germany in 1937 and initially moved to Amsterdam, where he lived in exile for the next ten years. This period was characterized by isolation and financial difficulties, but he remained artistically productive. In the late 1930s and 1940s, he created some of his most important works, including monumental triptychs in which he explored the theme of exile and the human search for redemption. Beckmann's works from this period are characterized by intense symbolism and gloomy realism, reflecting the artist's political and personal situation.
Later years and success in the USA
After the Second World War, in 1947, Beckmann emigrated to the USA, where he initially taught at Washington University in St. Louis and later moved to New York. The USA not only offered him refuge, but also new artistic opportunities. He became increasingly recognized in the American art world and his works were well received in major museums and galleries. In the late 1940s and 1950s, his work became increasingly symbolic and showed an even stronger preoccupation with religious and mythological themes.
In this late phase, he painted some of his most famous triptychs, including “Argonauten” (1949-1950), a monumental work that deals with man's struggle with his fate and his search for transcendence. Beckmann remained artistically active until his death, and his works received growing recognition in the USA and Europe.
Death and legacy
Max Beckmann dies of a heart attack in New York City on December 27, 1950. He leaves behind an enormous body of work that captures the deep contradictions and struggles of the 20th century. Today, Beckmann is considered one of the most important German painters of classical modernism, whose work reflects the tension between realism and abstraction, between mythology and modern existence.
Beckmann's paintings and works can be found today in the world's most important museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin. His monumental triptychs and portraits are an expression of an intense, often sombre view of human nature and the complexity of the modern world. Beckmann's artistic legacy, which masterfully addresses the dark and existential themes of the 20th century, has deeply influenced subsequent generations of artists.
Exhibitions
- 25.11.2022 – 12.03.2023 Max Beckmann. Departure – Kunsthalle Bremen, Bremen.
- 23.10.2021 – 27.02.2022 Max Beckmann: The Still Lifes – The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
- 20.09.2018 – 27.01.2019 Max Beckmann: Figures in Exile – Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum, Madrid.
- 24.10.2015 – 14.02.2016 Max Beckmann: The Path to Myth – Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main.
- 26.10.2003 – 11.01.2004 Max Beckmann Retrospective – Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York.
Awards
- 1906 Honorary Prize of the German Artists' Association
- 1928 Reich Honorary Prize for German Art
- 1929 Honorable Mention of the Carnegie Institute with the work "Die Loge"
- 1939 First prize at the Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco
- 1949 First Prize of the Carnegie Institute for Women Fishermen
- 1950 Awarded an honorary doctorate by Washington University in St. Louis and the Conte Volpi Prize at the Venice Biennale
Films
- Max Beckmann: Departure, documentary, Michael Trabitzsch, 93 min, Germany, 2014.
- Max Beckmann: Artist in Exile, documentary, Michael Blackwood, 52 min, Germany, 2003.
Literature
- Max Beckmann: Retrospective, Sabine Rewald, Prestel Verlag, Munich, 2016.
- Max Beckmann: The Still Lifes, Lillian Landon & Barbara Stehle, The Met Publications, 2021.
- Max Beckmann: Self-Portrait in Words, Barbara Copeland Buenger, University of Chicago Press, 1997.
- Max Beckmann and Berlin, Peter Vergo, Berlin, 2001.
Collections
Germany
- Frankfurt am Main - Städel Museum
- Munich - Pinakothek der Moderne
- Berlin - Neue Nationalgalerie
USA
- New York - The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
- Washington D.C. - National Gallery of Art
Schwitzerland
- Basel - Kunstmuseum Basel
Weblinks
- Max Beckmann on the website of the Städel Museum
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Max Beckmann Collection
