Max Beckmann (Masters of Art Series) - Hardcover

Lackner, Stephan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0810931095 ISBN 13: 9780810931091

Publisher: Harry N Abrams Inc, 1991

Synopsis

This critique of the twentieth-century German expressionist includes reproductions of forty works with descriptions and personal annotations by the author.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Even now, some forty-five years after his death, the works created by Max Beckmann exert an intense influence on contemporary art. His piercing self-portraits, his enigmatic yet compelling triptychs, his incisive prints all have earned him a well-deserved reputation as a creator of provocative work that is both emotionally and intellectually stimulating. Born in Leipzig, Germany, in 1884, Beckmann lived an international life, studying and working in Weimar, Frankfurt, Paris, and Berlin. Successful almost from his earliest days as a professional artist, he exhibited work to acclaim throughout Europe and America. With the Nazis' rise to power, his style and his subjects became dangerously out of fashion, and he was forced into exile - first to Amsterdam, where he spent World War II, and eventually to the United States, where he died, in New York, in 1950. Although some scholars have categorized Beckmann as a German Expressionist, he always resisted belonging to any group, asserting that "the greatest danger which threatens mankind is collectivization". He also resisted abstraction, remaining passionately committed to the figure throughout his long career. His paintings have much to say about sex, politics, and religion - which is no doubt why they so outraged the Nazis and no doubt why they have remained so absorbing to new generations of admirers.

About the Author:

Peter Selz is Professor Emeritus of Art History at the University of California, Berkeley.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harry N Abrams Inc
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0810931095
• ISBN 13: 9780810931091
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 126