Max Beckman

Max Beckman (1884–1950) is one of the great artists of modern art and an energetic interpreter of the world and time in which he lived. Beckman was mainly interested in people; it was people who occupied a central place in his paintings.

In thisexhibitionone can understand for the first time the various roles of femininity and masculinity in the artist's work. About 180 paintings, sculptures and works on paper reveal a wide range of proposed circumstances. Beckman's self-portraits, portraits of men and women of his time, as well as mythological and biblical drawings - all of them are connected with the fundamental constants of human coexistence: desire, devotion, courtship, rejection, dependence, antagonism, merging and the desire for freedom. Although they provide a better understanding of Beckmann’s sensual, multifaceted art, they also carry the significance of gender into modern times.

Beckmann's extensive Kunsthalle Hamburger collection will be enriched with important loans from private and public collections at home and abroad.