Zwei Frauen (Two Women) [p. 5]
1927
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
graphite on paper
Dimensions
page size: 17 x 11.8 cm (6 11/16 x 4 5/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Max Beckmann
Accession Number
1984.64.41.2
Art Historical Context
Max Beckmann's *Zwei Frauen (Two)*, created in 1927, the introspective intensity characteristic of this German Expressionist master. During the Weimar Republic's cultural ferment—marked by economic strife and social upheaval post-World War I—Beckmann developed his distinctive style, blending raw emotional power with sharp, angular forms influenced by New Objectivity (Neue Sachlichkeit). This graphite drawing, modestly sized at 17 x 11.8 cm, exemplifies his skill in distilling human figures into psychologically charged compositions, often exploring themes of isolation and human connection. Ren...
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...