Max Beckmann
German 1884-1950, worked in Holland 193-47, United States 1947-50
Self-portrait 1905
(Selbstbildnis)
oil on canvas
43.9 x 55.1 cm
Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main
Acquired in 1929
© Max Beckmann/VG BILD-KUNST, Bonn. Licensed by VISCOPY, Australia (detail)
German 1884-1950, worked in Holland 193-47, United States 1947-50
Self-portrait 1905
(Selbstbildnis)
oil on canvas
43.9 x 55.1 cm
Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main
Acquired in 1929
© Max Beckmann/VG BILD-KUNST, Bonn. Licensed by VISCOPY, Australia (detail)
Max Beckmann
Max Beckmann achieved early recognition with landscape and figure studies that were informed by the modernist painting styles of Cézanne, Van Gogh and Edvard Munch. The First World War, in which he served in the medical corps, left Beckmann emotionally shattered. His post-war compositions are often shifting, fractured and disturbing. After Hitler’s rise to power in 1933, Beckmann joined the many contemporary artists labelled as ‘degenerate’ by the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazi Party).
