Figure Studies
in or after 1937
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
graphite on stationery of "Karl Buchholz, Buchhandlung Kunstausstellung"
Dimensions
overall: 20.9 x 29.5 cm (8 1/4 x 11 5/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Given in memory of Frederick Zimmermann by his wife, Dorothy Zimmermann
Accession Number
1985.18.23
Art Historical Context
**Figure Studies** by Max Beckmann, created in or after 1937, offers a glimpse into the artist's introspective process during a turbulent period. This graphite drawing on stationery from "Karl Buchholz, Buchhandlung Kunstausstellung"—a prominent gallery that championed modern art—measures a modest 20.9 x 29.5 cm, highlighting Beckmann's resourceful use of available materials amid exile. As a master of German Expressionism, Beckmann captured human forms with raw emotional intensity, often distorting anatomy to convey psychological depth, and these studies likely served as preparatory sketches f...
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...