Mann mit Spitzbart (Man with a Pointed Beard) [p. 66]
1926 to 1950
![Mann mit Spitzbart (Man with a Pointed Beard) [p. 66] by Max Beckmann](https://images.artheonmuseum.org/nga/thumb/mann-mit-spitzbart-man-with-a-pointed-beard-p-66-nga-64966.webp)
Medium
graphite on perforated, cream paper
Dimensions
sheet: 14 x 20 cm (5 1/2 x 7 7/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Max Beckmann
Accession Number
1984.64.42.11
Art Historical Context
**Mann mit Spitzbart (Man with a Pointed Beard is a compelling graphite drawing by Max Beckmann, the renowned German Expressionist artist, created sometime between 1926 and 1950. Beckmann, known for his intense, psychologically charged figures that grapple with human suffering and existential themes, often produced such sketches as preparatory studies or personal meditations. This intimate portrait captures a man with a distinctive pointed beard, rendered with Beckmann's characteristic bold lines and dramatic contrasts, evoking the turmoil of interwar Europe and his own exile from Nazi Germany...
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...