Beckmann Sketchbook 17
1916-1936
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View on museum website →Medium
sketchbook with 28 sketches in graphite, 15 pages of artist's notations, 11 blank pages, and 2 missing sheets (4 pages.)
Dimensions
book: 19 x 12.5 x 4 cm (7 1/2 x 4 15/16 x 1 9/16 in.)
Classification
Volume
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Max Beckmann
Accession Number
1984.64.33.1-29
Art Historical Context
Step into the private creative universe of Max Beckmann with *Sketchbook 17*, a treasured artifact spanning two tumultuous decades from 1916 to 193. The German Expressionist painter, known for his raw, symbolic depictions of human anguish and resilience, filled this compact graphite sketchbook (19 x 12.5 x 4 cm) during World I, the Weimar Republic's cultural ferment, and the shadow of rising Nazism. Beckmann who later faced exile for his "degenerate" art, used such personal volumes to capture fleeting ideas amid personal and political upheaval. Containing 28 expressive graphite sketches, 15 p...
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...