4 - Max Beckmann

Max Beckmann Gesichter 1919 Half-parchment folder containing 19 drypoint etchings on Japan paper, each individually mounted in mat with an accompanying introductory text by Julius Meyer-Graefe with printing and edition notes, bound in a paper cover. From 11.9 x 17.7 cm to 29.8 x 43.2 cm (sheet 22.9 x 24.9 cm to 37.2 x 51.3 cm). The etchings individually signed and partly dated and titled. Printed numbering in the edition note. Copy XI/XL. Printed by Franz Hanfstaengl, Munich, published by Marées-Gesellschaft, R. Piper & Co., Munich 1919 (each with blindstamp). - Etchings in good condition. Foxing to the portfolio and with traces of use. Hofmaier 81, 84, 88-90, 105, 108, 126-137 Provenance Walter Carl, acquired directly from the artist; thenceforth, continuous family ownership The famous portfolio “Gesichter” marks a milestone in early 20th-century graphic art. In 19 drypoints, Max Beckmann presents a kaleidoscope of human feelings and the realities of life in the late 1910s. In the first and the final sheet, the artist has turned his gaze to himself, and he has also inserted his own likeness into a number of the other scenes. The thematic scope of the images ranges from evenings at the theatre to love scenes and landscapes to the operating theatre. Rather than following a narrative sequence, “Gesichter” spotlights diverse and contradictory facets of human life. The rough character of the drypoint medium underscores the prints’ expressive power. Beckmann originally planned to create two portfolios, one featuring images from the war period and one under the title “Welttheater”, with scenes of urban life. But the art critic Julius Meyer-Graefe assembled this selection from unpublished engravings created between 1914 and 1918, and he also suggested the title “Gesichter”. In 1915, after he was discharged from military duty, Beckmann had moved to Frankfurt-Sachsenhausen, where he stayed in his friend and fellow artist Ugi Battenberg’s home, which is now known as the Max Beckmann House. Battenberg introduced Beckmann to his brother-in-law, the future antiques dealer Walter Carl, who purchased this portfolio, among other works. From that point on, Walter Carl and his wife Käthe belonged to the early collectors of Beckmann in Frankfurt circles. Evidence of this link includes the “Bildnis Käthe und Walter Carl” from 1918 (Städel Museum Frankfurt, see comp. ill.). The faces of the Battenberg and Carl families are also immortalised in the portfolio: Sheet 10, “Der Abend”, depicts Walter Carl’s sister Friedel Battenberg with Max Beckmann, her husband Ugi and their cat Titti. As a complete portfolio, this work is extremely rare. It contains: 1. Selbstbildnis 1918, 1918, 27.9 x 25.8 cm (47.6 x 33.2 cm), signed. Hofmaier 137 II B.a. 2. Familienszene (Familie Beckmann), 1918. 30.8 x 26 cm (47.4 x 32.7 cm), signed and titled 'Familienszene'. Hofmaier 127 B.a. 3. Irrenhaus, 1918. 25.7 x 30.3 cm (34.1 x 36.5 cm), signed. Hofmaier 135 III B.a. 4. Liebespaar I, 1916. 23.2 x 29.7 cm (29.9 x 37.4 cm), signed, dated and titled 'Liebespaar I (16)'. Hofmaier 88 II B.a. 5. Liebespaar II, 1918. 21.7 x 26.5 cm (31.7 x 33 cm), signed, dated and titled 'Liebespaar (18)'. Hofmaier 126 II B.a. 6. Mainlandschaft, 1918. 25.1 x 29.4 cm (32.2 x 37.2 cm), signed, dated and titled 'Mainlandschaft (18)'. Hofmaier 128 IV B.a. 7. Die Gähnenden, 1918. 30.2 x 25.5 cm (38 x 31.8 cm), signed, dated and titled 'Siesta (18)'. Hofmaier 129 IV B.a. 8. Theater, 1916. 12.6 x 17.5 cm (23.5 x 24.7 cm), signed and titled 'Theater'. Hofmaier 89 III B.a. 9. Cafémusik, 1918. 31.4 x 23.1 cm (38.7 x 30.5 cm), signed, dated and titled 'Concertkaffee (18)'. Hofmaier 130 III B.a. 10. Der Abend (Selbstbildnis mit den Battenbergs), 1916. 24 x 17.8 cm (30.3 x 23 cm), signed and titled '"Mitternacht"'. Hofmaier 90 II B.a. 11. Kreuzabnahme, 1918. 30.8 x 25.7 cm (47.7 x 33.1 cm), signed and dated '18'. Hofmaier 131 II B.a. 12. Auferstehung, 1918. 24.2 x 33.6 cm (32.8 x 47.4 cm), signed, dated and titled 'Auferstehung (18)'. Hofmaier 132 II B.a. 13. Frühling, 1918. 30 x 20 cm (38.7 x 30.6 cm), signed, dated and titled 'Frühling (18)'. Hofmaier 133 II B.a. 14. Landschaft mit Ballon, 1918. 23.5 x 29.2 cm (32.8 x 36.3 cm), signed, dated and titled 'Strasse (18)'. Hofmaier 134 II A.a. 15. Zwei Autooffiziere, 1915. 11.9 x 17.7 cm (22.9 x 24.9 cm), signed, dated and titled '2 Autooffiziere (15)'. Hofmaier 84 B.a. 16. Spielende Kinder, Breitformat, 1918. 26.1 x 30.2 cm (32 x 37.2 cm), signed, dated and titled 'Spielende Kinder (18)'. Hofmaier 136 II B.a. 17. Prosit Neujahr, 1917. 24 x 29,8 cm (32.6 x 36.7 cm), signed, dated and titled 'Prosit Neujahr 1917'. Hofmaier 108 VI B.a. 18. Grosse Operation, 1914. 29.8 x 43.2 cm (37.2 x 51.3 cm), signed, dated and titled 'Große Operation (1914)'. Hofmaier 81 VI B.a. 19. Selbstbildnis mit Griffel, 1917. 29.7 x 23.7 cm (47.5 x 32.9 cm), signed, dated and titled 'Selbstportrait 1917'. Hofmaier 105 II B.a.