Max Beckmann and the self

As original as he was prolific, German artist Max Beckmann produced nearly a thousand works in a career that spanned two world wars. This beautifully produced volume uses Beckmann’s own words as an introduction to the artist’s creative expression and his unwavering search for the self. Beckmann struggled throughout his life to define his identity through his paintings. He started out as an ambitious and self-confident young artist, went through a horrific stint as a medical orderly in World War I, and then became an exile in Holland and the United States. Through her careful analyses of more than fifty works, Sister Wendy illuminates Beckmann’s use of symbolism as well as the strong thematic strains of his paintings and triptychs. The artist’s bold use of color and line are in brilliant evidence in numerous full-color reproductions, and an extensive biography as well as several photographs offer additional insight into this strong creative presence who never failed to challenge himself or his audience with his art.