Portrait of Marie Swarzenski, Max Beckmann
Max Beckmann
Portrait of Marie Swarzenski
DE
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Max Beckmann

Portrait of Marie Swarzenski, ca. 1927


Blatt
575 x 475 mm
Darstellung
max. 520 x max. 360 mm
Physical Description
Black chalk and pastel in white, pink, purple, light and dark blue, green and grey, brush in grey and samples of grey pastel on dark brown wove paper, mounted on thick brown cardboard
Inventory Number
16822
Object Number
16822 Z
Status
Can be presented in the study room of the Graphische Sammlung (special opening hours)

Texts

About the Work

Georg Swarzenski (1876–1957) – a onetime director of the Städelsches Kunstinstitut – and his wife Marie belonged to the circle around Max Beckmann in Frankfurt. Here the artist captured Marie Swarzenski (1889–1967) in a pastel drawing. The soft crayons enabled him to ‘paint’ by overlapping and blurring the lines. Owing to their light hues in contrast to the brownish paper, they also lent themselves well to creating a sense of plasticity and strong light values. The figure appears lifelike and three-dimensional. At the same time, she avoids direct eye contact to the viewer so that, however captivating, the portrait also has an unapproachable quality.

Work Data

Basic Information

Title
Portrait of Marie Swarzenski
Draughtsman
Production Place
Period Produced
Object Type
Physical Description
Black chalk and pastel in white, pink, purple, light and dark blue, green and grey, brush in grey and samples of grey pastel on dark brown wove paper, mounted on thick brown cardboard
Material
Technique
Geographic Reference
Production Reason
Label at the Time of Manufacture
Nicht bezeichnet
Captions Added Later
Verso auf dem Karton ein Aufkleber: COLLECTION OF: / MR. AND MRS. W. V. SWARZENSKI / 3619 BERGER ROAD / TAMPA FLORIDA 33
Watermark
  • Nicht geprüft

Property and Acquisition

Institution
Departement
Collection
Creditline
Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main
Picture Copyright
Public Domain

Work Content

Motifs and References

Genre
Persons Shown

Iconclass

Primary
  • 61BB2(...)(+522) historical person (with NAME) - BB - woman (+ three-quarter view portrait)

Research and Discussion

Provenance

Object History
Max Beckmann, Frankfurt am Main
Georg Swarzenski (1876-1957), Frankfurt am Main/Boston
Nachlass Georg Swarzenski, 1957
Schenkung von Wolfgang Swarzenski an das Städelsche Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main, 2004.

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.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact the museum at .

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Last update

25.04.2024