Tanzendes Paar (Dancing Couple) [p. 42]
1918/1919
![Tanzendes Paar (Dancing Couple) [p. 42] by Max Beckmann](https://images.artheonmuseum.org/nga/thumb/tanzendes-paar-dancing-couple-p-42-nga-65024.webp)
Medium
graphite on graph paper
Dimensions
page size: 15.8 x 10.5 cm (6 1/4 x 4 1/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Max Beckmann
Accession Number
1984.64.47.17
Art Historical Context
**Tanzendes Paar (Dancing)**, a delicate graphite drawing on graph paper by Max Beck from 1918/1919, captures a joyful moment of two figures locked in an exuberant dance. Measuring just 15.8 x 10.5 cm, this intimate sketch exemplifies Beckmann's Expressionist style, known for its raw emotional intensity and distorted forms that convey inner psychological states rather than mere realism. Created in the turbulent aftermath of World War I, work reflects the Weimar era's mix of despair and fleeting revelry in Germany. Beckmann, who suffered a mental breakdown during the war, channeled personal tu...
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...