Seated Woman and Woman Reading
1945
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View on museum website →Medium
graphite on wove paper
Dimensions
overall: 22.6 x 30.9 cm (8 7/8 x 12 3/16 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
1985.18.30
Art Historical Context
In the final months of World War II, German Expressionist Max Beckmann created *Seated Woman and Woman Reading* (1945), a poignant graphite drawing on wove paper measuring 22.6 x 30.9 cm. Exiled in Amsterdam since fleeing Nazi persecution in 1937, Beckmann captured intimate domestic scenes amid personal and global turmoil. This work reflects his period of isolation, where everyday moments like quiet reading and contemplation offered solace, contrasting his more monumental triptychs filled with distorted figures and existential themes. Beckmann's Expressionist style shines through in the drawi...
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...