Max BeckmannGerman, 1884–1950Happy New Year 1917
May one see it?
Not receiving at present
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
This closely packed image portrays a mix of people at a holiday party. A skeleton-like war veteran with a patched eye is just one of several inebriated patrons whose celebration of a new year, Beckmann implies, is pure folly. The artist often worked in drypoint, a method of directly scratching a plate to create an image that, when inked, retains a velvety burr around the lines. The technique allowed him to work spontaneously, similar to sketching with a pen on paper.
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Particulars
- Accession number
- 1975.53
In the catalog
Sources
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Image: The Cleveland Museum of Art — Museum open access
Meanwhile, in the life of Max Beckmann
The whole life1907–1915 · Residence
Hermsdorf
during the First World War
A nervous breakdown and discharge from the army
His traumatic experience of the war coincides with a dramatic change of style, from academically correct depictions to a distortion of both figure and space. He is discharged from the military after a nervous breakdown.
during the First World War
Volunteers as a medical orderly in the First World War
Beckmann volunteers for the war and serves as a medical orderly, working in a hospital.
