Max Beckmann in New York
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,Individual Artists
Max Beckmann in New York Details
Review "Richly detailed catalogue offers crucial augmentation to both the paintings and the circumstances of their making."--Jean Marie Carey, Museum Bookstore--Jean Marie Carey"Museum Bookstore" (03/12/2017) Read more Book Description A renowned art historian presents a unique and insightful portrait of one of the 20th century’s most enigmatic and challenging artists. Read more About the Author Sabine Rewald is Jacques and Natasha Gellman Curator in the Modern and Contemporary Department, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Read more
Reviews
This is the engaging catalog of the exhibit at the Met through February 20, 2017. The writing is lively, scholarly without being pedantic, and captures the artist's complex and dominant personality.The exhibit and the catalog focus on the pictures Beckmann painted while living in New York and on works in New York collections. Beckmann was driven out of Germany in 1937, denounced as a "degenerate artist." After ten years of self-imposed exile in Amsterdam, he moved to America, eventually ending up in New York. He loved New York: "Babylon is a kindergarten by comparison," stated the artist in admiration.I was amused by the description of Beckmann's fondness for seedy drinking dives on the one hand, and his habit, on the other hand, of dropping by the Plaza after a long day of painting for a "recovery cocktail" in the posh hotel. His personality was a mass of contradictions. His taste for reading German philosophy contrasted with his taste for carnival and Chinese horror films. His paintings were full of salacious and violent imagery, but he modified some of them in deference to American prudery. He scorned interpretations of his work, but he secretly confided to his wife what he was up to. This book reports on some of those confidences.There are detailed write-ups on the paintings in the exhibit. These offer fascinating biographical tidbits, identification of models where possible, discussions of Beckmann’s work methods, and insights into his imagery from personal to political to mythological.The reproductions are excellent. Even rather gloomy colors come alive. The portraits are particularly impressive. Beckmann painted some eighty self-portraits, and this book has powerful examples. I found the portraits of his wife Quappi especially charming.If you are going to the exhibit, or have any interest in German Expressionism, I highly recommend this book.
