Circus Caravan, Max Beckmann
Max Beckmann
Circus Caravan
DE
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Max Beckmann

Circus Caravan, 1940


Dimensions
86.3 x 118.5 cm
Physical Description
Oil on canvas
Inventory Number
SG 1127
Acquisition
Acquired in 1951
Status
On display, 1st upper level, Modern Art, room 9

Texts

About the Work

For Beckmann, the circus and the stage were symbols of human existence. Like a director, he enacted the great “theatre” of life. Beckmann himself appears repeatedly alongside actors, jugglers and artists. Here, he can be seen as a newspaper-reading circus director, with his wife Mathilde, depicted as a fortune teller, is lying on a sofa in front of him. Beckmann’s works are ambiguous, with numerous personal allusions. This painting seems to reflect the oppressive conditions during his exile in Amsterdam. It was the first of his paintings to be acquired by the Städel after 1945.

Audio

  • Basic information
    01:06
  • Focus on art history
    02:20

Work Data

Basic Information

Title
Circus Caravan
Painter
Production Place
Period Produced
School
Object Type
Physical Description
Oil on canvas
Material
Technique
Label at the Time of Manufacture
Signiert und datiert unten rechts: Beckmann A 40
Work Catalogues
  • Göpel 2021, Nr. 552

Property and Acquisition

Institution
Departement
Collection
Creditline
Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main
Picture Copyright
Public Domain
Acquisition
Acquired in 1951

Work Content

Motifs and References

Genre
Main Motif
Persons Shown
Associated Persons and Institutions

Iconclass

Primary
  • 43A36 circus
  • 41AA192 caravan (trailer) - AA - civic architecture: inside
  • 61B2(BECKMANN,Max)11(+51) historical person (BECKMANN,Max) - historical person (BECKMANN,Max) portrayed alone (+ head (BECKMANN,Max) (BECKMANN,Max))
  • 48B3 portrait, self-portrait of artist
  • 31A235 sitting figure
  • 31AA2364 lying on one side, with uplifted upper part of the body and leaning on the arm - AA - female human figure
  • 31A231 standing figure
  • 31A2723 climbing
Secondary
Associative

Research and Discussion

Provenance

Object History
Max Beckmann (1884-1950), Amsterdam
Galerie Günther Franke, München, 1941
verkauft an die Städtische Galerie, Frankfurt am Main, April 1951.

Information

Since 2001, the Städel Museum has systematically been researching the provenance of all objects that were acquired during the National Socialist period, or that changed owners or could have changed owners during those years. The basis for this research is the “Washington Declaration”, also known as the “Washington Conference Principles”, formulated at the 1998 “Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets” and the subsequent “Joint Declaration”.

The provenance information is based on the sources researched at the time they were published digitally. However, this information can change at any time when new sources are discovered. Provenance research is therefore a continuous process and one that is updated at regular intervals.

Ideally, the provenance information documents an object’s origins from the time it was created until the date when it found its way into the collection. It contains the following details, provided they are known:

  • the type of acquisition and/or the way the object changed hands
  • the owner's name and place of residence
  • the date on which it changed hands

The successive ownership records are separated from each other by a semicolon.

Gaps in the record of a provenance are indicated by the placeholder “…”. Unsupported information is listed in square brackets.

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Last update

25.04.2024