Zwei Akrobaten in der Schaukel (Two Acrobats in Swings) [p. 25]
1876 to 1900
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
graphite on paper
Dimensions
page size: 16.2 x 13 cm (6 3/8 x 5 1/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Max Beckmann
Accession Number
1984.64.46.17
Art Historical Context
**Zwei Akrob in der Schaukel (Two Acrobats in Swings)** is a charming graphite drawing by Max Beck, a towering figure in early 20th-century Germanism known for his bold, distorted forms and psychological depth. Created between 1876 and 1900 on a modest sheet of paper measuring just .2 x 13 cm, this work appears on page 25 of what have been a personal sketchbook. The intimate scale invites close viewing, revealing Beckmann's skillful use of graphite to capture motion and tension—the acrobats mid-swing evoke the thrill of the circus, a recurring motif in his oeuvre that explored human fragility ...
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...