Christ in Limbo
1947/1948
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
overall: 78.7 × 108.6 cm (31 × 42 3/4 in.) framed: 81.92 × 112.4 × 3.81 cm (32 1/4 × 44 1/4 × 1 1/2 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CMC
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Max Beckmann
Accession Number
1975.96.2
Art Historical Context
Max Beckmann's *Christ in Limbo*1947/1948), an oil on canvas measuring 78.7 × 108.6 cm, the German Expressionist's profound engagement with themes of suffering, redemption, and the human condition. Painted in the immediate aftermath of World War II during Beckmann's exile in Amsterdam and shortly before his move to the United States, the reflects the artist's personal turmoil amid the devastation of Nazism and global conflict. As a key figure in German Expressionism, Beckmann infused religious subjects like the Harrowing of Hell—Christ's descent into Limbo to liberate righteous souls—with raw ...
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...