Max Beckmann: Tradition as a Problem in Modern Art

135 pages : illustrations (some colour) ; 26 cm. Max Beckmann (1884-1950) must be counted as one of the giants of twentieth-century art. Among the modern masters, however, he is the one who requires the most interpretation and study. For this reason his work remains less well known and less well understood than it should be. He stands outside the canonical history of modernism be- cause of his insistence on the value of traditional forms in art. And although he is often described as the most German of German painters, his critical reception remains controversial and complicated. This book on Max Beckmann, unlike previous studies, does not focus on his biography or ana- lyze his often difficult subject matter. Instead, Belting considers Beckmann and his achievement within the context of art history, as indeed the artist saw himself reflected throughout his productive life. And rather than focus on Beckmann as an outsider, he shows that Beckmann's idealistic aesthetics, his notions about creativity and myth, and his belief in the transcendent self were all part of the cultural climate in Germany. Today art criticism no longer invites the blind affirmation of all that is modern in art. Beckmann sought his place both in the ranks of modern art and in the rich tradition of art history to which he was heir. By not rejecting traditional forms, Beckmann's art has a particular relevance to the art of today. Viewing Beckmann in the mirror of art his- tory, we not only gain further insight into this most challenging of painters but also are given a model that joins the traditions of art history with problems of modernity.…