Max Beckmann - prints and biography

Max Beckmann (1884–1950) was one of the most influential German artists of the 20th century, acclaimed both as a painter and as a master printmaker. Born in Leipzig, he studied at the Weimar Academy of Fine Arts before establishing himself as a painter in Berlin in the years before the First World War. The war profoundly altered his vision, and his experiences as a medical orderly during the conflict pushed his work toward greater psychological intensity and symbolic depth.

While Beckmann is often associated with Expressionism, he rejected labels, forging a highly individual style that combined realism, allegory, and complex narrative. His prints, in particular, offered him a medium of direct expression, free from the constraints of large-scale painting. Between 1914 and 1924 he created an extraordinary body of graphic work: 156 drypoints, 72 lithographs, and 16 woodcuts. These works convey biting satire, existential tension, and a profound reflection on the human condition during one of Europe’s most turbulent decades.

Beckmann’s prints often draw on themes of urban life, theater, and myth, rendered in stark contrasts and bold, incisive lines. His drypoints are especially notable for their immediacy, achieved through the direct burr of the needle on the copper plate. These works not only expanded the possibilities of modern printmaking but also cemented Beckmann’s reputation as one of the leading graphic artists of his generation.

After the rise of the Nazi regime, Beckmann’s art was denounced as “degenerate.” Forced into exile, he left Germany in 1937, first settling in Amsterdam and later moving to the United States in 1947. In exile he continued to paint and make prints, producing some of his most powerful late works.

Max Beckmann’s legacy lies in his uncompromising vision and his ability to merge technical mastery with profound human insight. His paintings and prints remain central to the story of modern European art.