Zirkusnummer mit Elefanten (Circus Act with Elephants from Behind) [p. 69]
1876 to 1900
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
graphite on perforated paper
Dimensions
page size: 13 x 19.6 cm (5 1/8 x 7 11/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Max Beckmann
Accession Number
1984.64.63.21
Art Historical Context
Max Beckmann's *Zirkusnummer mitfanten (Circus with Elephants from Behind, a delicate graphite drawing on perforated paper, dates to between 1876 and 1900 and measures a modest 13 x 19.6 cm. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's CG-W as a gift from. Max Beckmann, page 69 from what appears to be a sketch captures the whimsical energy of a circus spectacle. The unusual rear view of the elephants adds a playful, almost voyeuristic intimacy, highlighting the artist's eye for everyday entertainments that captivated late 19th-century audiences. As an early work by Beckmann—born in 1884 and later ...
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...