Evening (Self-Portrait with the Battenbergs), Max Beckmann
Max Beckmann
Evening (Self-Portrait with the Battenbergs)
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Max Beckmann

Evening (Self-Portrait with the Battenbergs), 1916

Plate 10 of: Gesichter, Munich: Marées Gesellschaft and Piper, 1919


Blatt
299 x 246 mm
Platte
240 x 179 mm
Physical Description
Drypoint etching on Japan paper Second state (of III)
Inventory Number
SG 2952
Object Number
SG 2952 D
Acquisition
Acquired in 1949 from the collection of Ugi and Fridel Battenberg
Status
Can be presented in the study room of the Graphische Sammlung (special opening hours)

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About the Work

In a letter to the publisher Reinhard Piper of 9 March 1917, Beckmann described this drypoint etching as one of his “best works”. We see the Battenberg couple: Ugi completely absorbed in his glass, Fridel contemplative, on her lap the cat she was so often portrayed with. Beckmann’s own demonic-looking face pushes itself between the two like a wedge. The drypoint technique accounts for the soft look of the cat’s fur. As a vehicle for conveying the mood the artist described as “latently erotic”, the pet also bears symbolic significance.

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Last update

10.09.2024