Any ideas? When we say who, we obviously mean someone notable in the art world. We don’t expect you to guess the thousands of names of babies born in Nigeria, Indonesia, China and India everyday (we’re sure one of them will eventually be a world leading artist). The person who celebrated his birthday recently was Max Beckmann (albeit posthumously), born in 1884. The German artist was a painter, printmaker, draftsman, sculptor and writer, active in the field of Expressionism and Neue Sachlichkeit, or New Objectivity. So exactly what was he all about?
When considering an artist’s achievements and legacies, it’s always worthwhile to step back and consider just where he came from. Beckmann was from a German middle class family who received an art education similar to his contemporaries. However, there was one defining issue that would change his life and his art: World War I. Beckmann was a medic in the German army and clearly exited the war with a significantly altered worldview. Prior to his years as a medic, Beckmann oil paintings were nearly Alma Tadema-esque: they were academically accurate, featured correct proportions and were traditional. Post WW1 and this changed to a much more distorted style, a precursor to Cubism in the way space and figure were angled and changed.
Thankfully, Beckmann regained his composure and managed to progress his artistic career. He specialised in self-portraits, of which he would paint hundreds over his lifetime to a level only found in other artists such as Picasso, Kahlo and Rembrandt. Beckmann also enjoyed contemporary acknowledgment for his work, even though it was avant-garde. During the Weimar Republic he was chosen as one of a few master teachers at Frankfurt’s noted Städelschule Academy of Fine Art, where he taught famous students such as Leo Maillet, Marie-Louise von Motesiczky and Theo Garve. He also won several notable art prizes, including the Honorary Empire Prize for German Art in 1927 and the Gold Medal of the City of Düsseldorf in 1928. Beckmann also received attention – not all positive, we should note – for his written works. For much of his life he subscribed, examined and debated many forms of mysticism and theosophy in search of the Artist Self and several Beckmann oil paintings are proof of this.
Beckmann’s and the rest of the world’s fortunes changed with the rise of the Nazi party and Adolf Hitler. Hitler, himself a reject of the art establishment, hated modern art and started to seize all works he and other members of the Nazi leadership deemed degenerate. Beckmann was a prime candidate: at least 500 of his works were taken and he was fired from all teaching positions. Forced to leave Germany, he moved to Holland and lived in Amsterdam for 10 years. His Netherlands phase is gripping and strongly emotional, differing markedly from all his previous paintings, once again showing the impact of war on his artwork. After Holland Beckmann moved to the United States, where he would only live for three years: nevertheless, they were full years, with prodigious output and also several large oil paintings, including triptychs, which he left to his newly adopted country.
