Max Beckmann: On My Painting (Artists Writings)

Prior to his exile, which was necessitated by his wife being Jewish, he had lived in Hannover, Berlin, and Switzerland. Today he is considered a main representative of abstract and constructivist art. In contrast, the Berlin painter Fiedler, who had lived in Paris in the s and was a friend of George Grosz, executed realistic portraits.

By choosing to represent these painters in a group portrait, Beckmann illuminated two modes of painting decisively different from his own concerns with creating a transcendental world. His reference to both abstract art and realistic painting can thus be understood as a means of emphasizing his outsider status and his belief in an individualistic artistic practice positioned in between abstraction and figuration. The German philosopher Wolfgang Frommel had more in common with Beckmann. Frommel, whose radio program included Jewish authors, took a stance in between acquiescence and resistance.

His programmatic publication The Third Humanism exposes a utopian-reactionary notion of the world.

“Max Beckmann in New York” at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

Devoid of anti-Semitism, it assumes an elitist intellectual position. Like Beckmann, Frommel privileged spiritual values, which he attempted to set against the visible world of National Socialism. Yet he also shared beliefs with the Nazis: In the summer of he was denounced, and in he left Germany for Amsterdam, where he worked for publishers and also sheltered Jews. He is undoubtedly the most important exile depicted in this painting, a point emphasized by the golden frame surrounding his head.

This historicist reference can be seen as an attempt to assimilate with northern culture, although not with contemporary art as it was then practiced in the Netherlands. Seventeenth-century northern art had been held in high esteem by German collectors and museums since the founding of the German Reich in Beckmann was certainly aware of this.

Instead Beckmann constructed a discourse that ambiguously alternates between creating a fictitious narrative and representing individual German exiles.

All four are known to have lived as exiles in the Netherlands, where they shared a common fate, and their sitting together around a table suggests a probable situation. Other elements of the composition underscore their individuality. The figure of Beckmann, for example, avoids any visible interaction with the others that would suggest a narrative line.

In addition, the white tablecloth, the large candle in its center, and the attributive character of the objects that the exiles hold in their hands establish a religious or at least pseudo-religious context, elevating the meeting into a transcendental realm in which Frommel again takes center stage, as he seems to be dressed as a priest.

Spotlight Essay: Max Beckmann

Centre Pompidou , ed. Piper, , 44, 50, 52, 53, Saint Louis Art Museum; Munich: Prestel, , ; Charles W. Louis , by Joseph D. Don't have a Kindle? Try the Kindle edition and experience these great reading features: Share your thoughts with other customers. Write a customer review.

Max Beckmann - Wikiquote

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Please try again later. Great read, did not realize how very very short it is!! Insightful, wonderful artist with true introspection to art and his process.

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One person found this helpful. If you are a fan of Beckmann this a must read. Beckmann goes counter to todays direction,with its empahsis on formal qualities: He stresses content and that means subject matter. Beckmann's formal attributes come out of traditional German art. He tells you why ,he paints.

He didn't have a difficult art life: His work as an ambulance driver in WW1 scarred his vision of the world. After a period of recovery from mental problems due to the war. He led a stable life. He came to the U. S after the Nazis were seeking him in the Netherlands. He tried to compete with Picasso. He kept a keen eye on Pablo's work. Max still enjoys a big reputation. He never lost his visual German accent! There's a problem loading this menu right now. Learn more about Amazon Prime. Get fast, free shipping with Amazon Prime.

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