Zwei Figuren (Two Figures) [p. 50]
1918/1919
![Zwei Figuren (Two Figures) [p. 50] by Max Beckmann](https://images.artheonmuseum.org/nga/thumb/zwei-figuren-two-figures-p-50-nga-65026.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
1984.64.47.19
Art Historical Context
**Zwei Figuren (Two Figures)**, a delicate graphite drawing on graph paper by Max Beck, dates to 1918/1919. Measuring just 15.8 x 10.5 cm, this intimate work captures two figures amid the artist's post-World War I recovery. Beckmann, a pivotal German Expressionist, had served in the military, suffering a breakdown that profoundly shaped his vision of human anguish and resilience. Created on unconventional graph paper—likely a practical choice in resource-scarce postwar Germany—this sketch exemplifies Beckmann's raw, exploratory drawing technique. Graphite allows for precise yet expressive lin...
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...