154 - Max Beckmann. Apocalypse. Frankfurt am Main, Bauersche Gießerei, 1943. Includes 27 lithographs, 16 of which are full-sheet. Original cardboard binding with title on the cover in red.

Max Beckmann. Apocalypse. Frankfurt am Main, Bauersche Gießerei, 1943. Includes 27 lithographs, 16 of which are full-sheet. Original cardboard binding with title on the cover in red. Start time: approx. 1:29 p.m. (schedule subject to change) First edition: “This print was created in the fourth year of World War II, when the visions of the apocalyptic seer became a horrific reality.” (Colophon). Unnumbered, uncolored “artist’s copy for” “Toni Müller” (calligraphically inscribed in place of a number in ink or pencil). Hofmaier documents 41 copies, ten of which are uncolored and unnumbered. However, the print run was officially stated as only 24 in order to circumvent an application for a printing permit for private prints. - Enclosed is a handwritten dedication page by the Beckmann monographer Erhard Göpel: “For Toni Müller—Dedicated in memory of that first, enchanting evening. [...] Christmas 1944.” Erhard Göpel coordinated the production of the book. - During Beckmann’s exile in Amsterdam, he created the important graphic series of his late work—the “Apocalypse” and “Faust II”—commissioned by Georg Hartmann, the director of the Bauer Foundry. “The illustrations have remained very close to the text; nevertheless, motifs that frequently appeared in Beckmann’s works—such as the fish, the candle, the snake, the funnel, and the trumpet, the self-portrait [as a comforting angel], and the sea—are interwoven into the iconography of the Apocalypse.“ (Beatrice Hérnad, in: *Papiergesänge*). — The typeface “Legende,” designed by F. H. Ernst Schneidler, was used. The type is printed in dark gray and red (title and first line of text). — On handmade paper. “Since Dürer, no German artist has devoted such intense illustrative power to this work. Under the hands of the late and wise Beckmann, *The Apocalypse* becomes one of the most significant illustrated books in twentieth-century German art, born of the almost superhuman efforts of the era, by an artist exiled from Germany.” (Adolf Jannasch, in: M.B. as Illustrator, p. 10). Hofmaier 330–356 (Vol. II, p. 803ff.) - *Papiergesänge* 63. - *M. B. als Illustrator*, Neu-Isenburg 1969, 9 40.0 : 31.0 cm. 76, [4] pages. - Cover and approximately 20 leaves have watermarks on the right margin; the spine is browned and slightly cracked at the joints. English description: Contains 27 lithographs, 16 of which are full-sheet. Original cardboard binding with the title on the cover in red. First edition: “This print was created in the fourth year of World War II, when the visions of the apocalyptic seer became a gruesome reality.” (Transl: “This print was created in the fourth year of World War II, when the visions of the apocalyptic seer became a gruesome reality.”) (Colophon). Unnumbered, uncolored “Artist’s copy for” “Toni Müller” (calligraphically inscribed in place of a number in ink or pencil). Hofmaier documents 41 copies, ten of which are uncolored and unnumbered. However, the print run was officially stated as only 24 in order to avoid having to apply for a printing permit for private prints. - Enclosed is a handwritten dedication page by the Beckmann monographer Erhard Göpel: “For Toni Müller—Dedicated in memory of that first, enchanting evening. [...] Christmas 1944.” Erhard Göpel coordinated the production of the book. - During Beckmann’s exile in Amsterdam, he created the important graphic series of his late work, “Apocalypse” and “Faust II,” commissioned by Georg Hartmann, the director of the Bauer Foundry. “The illustrations have remained very close to the text; nevertheless, motifs that frequently appeared in Beckmann’s works—such as the fish, the candle, the snake, the funnel, and the trumpet, the self-portrait [as a comforting angel], and the sea—are interwoven into the iconography of the Apocalypse.“ (trans. Beatrice Hérnad, in *Papiergesänge*). — The typeface used was “Legende,” designed by F. H. Ernst Schneidler. The text is printed in dark gray and red (title and first line of text). — On handmade paper. “Since Dürer, no German artist has devoted such intense illustrative energy to this work. In the hands of the late and wise Beckmann, the Apocalypse becomes one of the most significant illustrated books in twentieth-century German art—born of the almost superhuman efforts of the era, by an artist who had been driven from Germany.” (Translated by Adolf Jannasch, in: M.B. als Illustrator, p. 10). Cover and about 20 pages have water stains on the right edge; spine is browned and slightly cracked at the joints.