männliche Bildnisstudie (Male Profile) [p. 40]
1944-1949
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
graphite on paper
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Max Beckmann
Accession Number
1984.64.38.20
Art Historical Context
Max Beckmann's *Männliche Bildnisstudie (Male Profile)*, created between 1944 and 1949, captures the artist's masterful command of graphite on paper in this intimate drawing. As a leading figure of German Expressionism and New Objectivity, Beckmann was renowned for his bold, psychologically charged portraits that conveyed inner turmoil amid external chaos. This profile study exemplifies his economical yet expressive line work, likely a preparatory sketch honing the intense gaze and angular features typical of his wartime oeuvre. The piece emerged during a pivotal chapter in Beckmann's life: h...
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...