Beckmann Sketchbook 15
1915-early 1920s
Medium
sketchbook with 24 sketches in graphite on perforated paper
Dimensions
book: 13 x 19.6 x 0.6 cm (5 1/8 x 7 11/16 x 1/4 in.)
Classification
Volume
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Max Beckmann
Accession Number
1984.64.63.1-25
Art Historical Context
Welcome to the National Gallery of, where we invite you to explore *Beckmann Sketchbook *, a intimate window into the mind of Max Beckmann, of the 20th century's most powerful Expressionist artists. Created between 1915 and the early 1920s, this compact volume—measuring just 13 x 19.6 x 0.6 cm—contains graphite sketches on perforated paper, designed for easy removal and further development. Beckmann, a German painter known for his raw, psychologically charged figures, filled these pages during and after World War I, a period that profoundly shaped his vision after his own service and subseque...
About the Artist
Max Beckmann
Max Carl Friedrich Beckmann (1884-1950) stands as one of the most significant German painters of the twentieth century, a complex artist who bridged Expressionism and the New Objectivity while forging a deeply personal visual language. Born in Leipzig into a middle-class family, Beckmann's artistic journey spanned from academic classicism through the traumatic crucible of World War I to a mature s...