Beckmann: Drawings

A journey through the beloved graphic cosmos of artist Max Beckmann, filled with surprising new discoveries about him.

Around eighty works from each of the artist's creative phases reveal Max Beckmann as an idiosyncratic interpreter of the world. For him, drawing was existential: with pencil, chalk, pen, and pastel, he collected motifs, searched for new formal solutions and pictorial inventions, developed multi-layered compositions, and shaped his worldview. In the cosmos of his drawings, we get to know Beckmann anew.

This volume offers fascinating insights into Beckmann's world along with findings from the catalog raisonné of his drawings. Rarely seen sheets and famous works from the Städel Museum's significant holdings and international collections take the reader on a journey through Beckmann's life--revealing his highly original artistic development, from his early period in Berlin to his final years as an émigré.

Hedda Finke currently works on the catalog raisonné of Max Beckmann's drawings.

Regina Freyberger is director of the graphic arts collection from 1800 at the Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main.

Stephan von Wiese currently works on the catalog raisonné of Max Beckmann's drawings.