Frankfurt Main Station, Max Beckmann
Max Beckmann
Frankfurt Main Station
DE
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Max Beckmann

Frankfurt Main Station, 1943


Dimensions
70.0 x 90.0 cm
Physical Description
Oil on canvas
Inventory Number
SG 1279
Acquisition
Acquired in 1957, Property of the Adolf und Luisa Haeuser-Stiftung für Kunst und Kulturpflege
Status
Not on display

Texts

About the Work

Ten years after fleeing the National Socialist regime and being in exile in Amsterdam, Beckmann painted this view of the main train station in Frankfurt. He had enjoyed spending time there, absorbing the lively and international atmosphere or visiting the luxurious restaurant in the entrance hall. Though he painted it only from memory, Beckmann managed to reproduce the building and station square accurately. Meanwhile, observing the scenery once again, there is the black cat which repeatedly appears in Beckmann’s works, making the picture’s contents more enigmatic. In this case, the main train station served him as an ambiguous symbol for arrival and departure – a theme that he dealt with all his life.

Work Data

Basic Information

Title
Frankfurt Main Station
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. 43
Work Catalogues
  • Göpel 2021 Nr. 609

Property and Acquisition

Institution
Departement
Collection
Creditline
Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main
Picture Copyright
Public Domain
Acquisition
Acquired in 1957, Property of the Adolf und Luisa Haeuser-Stiftung für Kunst und Kulturpflege

Work Content

Iconclass

Primary
Secondary
  • 24B1 waxing moon, i.e. facing this way: )
  • 41A337 view through a window
  • 34B12 cat
  • 25I13 public gardens, park

Research and Discussion

Provenance

Object History
Max Beckmann (1884-1950), Amsterdam
verkauft an Theo Garve (1902-1987), Frankfurt am Main, 1943/44
Adolf und Luisa Haeuser-Stiftung, Frankfurt am Main, 1957
Dauerleihgabe an die Städtische Galerie, Frankfurt am Main.

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