weibliche Bildnisstudie (Woman) [p. 23]
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
1984.64.38.9
Art Historical Context
**weibliche Bildnisstudie (Woman) [p. 23] by Max Beckmann** Created between 1944 and 1949, this intimate graphite drawing captures Max Beckmann's masterful draftsmanship during a tumultuous period. Beckmann, a leading German Expressionist, produced this "female portrait study" amid World War II's aftermath. Exiled in Amsterdam from 1937 to evade Nazi persecution of modernist artists, he later emigrated to the United States in 1947. His works from this era often reflect inner turmoil through distorted forms and psychological depth, hallmarks of Expressionism that prioritize emotional truth ove...
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...