Self-Portrait

1911

Max Beckmann

Associated Names
Max Beckmann

Artist, German, 1884 - 1950

The image is a black and white portrait focusing on the face and upper shoulders of a person. The figure is positioned facing forward, engaging the viewer directly. The person has distinct facial features with pronounced shadows accentuating the eyes and a furrowed brow. The hair appears dense and somewhat disheveled. The individual is depicted wearing a suit with a shirt and bow tie. There are no visible jewelry or objects held by the person. The background of the image is plain and lightly shaded. The artist's signature and the year '1911' are visible in the upper left portion of the image.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    lithograph

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Accession Number

    1951.10.252

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Hofmaier 1990, no. 25, State Bb


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Claude Schaefer [1913-2010], Montevideo, Uruguay; sold 1950 to Lessing J. Rosenwald; [1] gift 1950/1951 to the National Gallery of Art.
[1] In Recollections of a Collector, 1976, p. 56-57, Rosenwald described being approached by a young man in South America who offered to sell his father’s collection of prints that he had brought with him from Germany. Rosenwald gives the year as 1951, but his appointment books confirm that it was actually 1950 - he left for Buenos Aires on 9 February 1950 and returned on 20 March 1950 (Library of Congress, Rosenwald Papers, Box 75). Rosenwald writes that he bought the entire collection of some 1100 prints and drawings, but as they had already been scheduled to be sent to Europe they came to the United States via Antwerp, arriving in the US in late April 1950. Rosenwald decided to keep about a quarter of the collection, destined for the National Gallery of Art, and donate the remainder to other institutions. The inventory log of Alverthorpe indicates that just over 300 works were accessioned there in May of 1950, inventory numbers 50.260-50.530, acquired from Claude Schaefer (Gallery Archives, National Gallery of Art, RG 45A1, Rosenwald Papers, Box 41).

Associated Names

Bibliography

1962

  • Gallwitz, Klaus. Max Beckmann. Die Druckgraphik, Radierungen, Lithographien, Holzschnitte. Karlsruhe: Badischer Kunstverein, 1962.

1990

  • Hofmaier, James. Max Beckmann, Catalogue raisonné of his Prints. 2 vols. Bern: Gallery Kornfeld, 1990.

Inscriptions

lower right in plate: 1911

Markings

Verso, stamped in black ink: COMISION NACIONAL DE MUSEOS / Y MONUMENTOS HISTORICOS / JOSE LUIS BUSANICHE / SECRETARIO GENERALE

Wikidata ID

Q65362525

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