Gesellschaft (Society)

Max Beckmann, German, 1884 - 1950

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1918

Drypoint on wove paper

Plate: 10 1/4 × 12 5/8 in. (26 × 32 cm)

Sheet: 12 9/16 × 19 7/8 in. (31.9 × 50.5 cm)

Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Susan E. Hardy, Nancy R. Wilsker, Sarah A. Stahl, and John S. Stahl in memory of their parents Barbara J. and David G. Stahl, Class of 1947

2014.73.60

Publisher

J. B. Neumann, Berlin

Geography

Place Made: Germany, Europe

Period

20th century

Object Name

Print

Research Area

Print

Not on view

Inscriptions

Signed, lower right, in graphite: Beckmann; inscribed, lower right edge, in graphite: [illeg.]; inscribed, lower right corner, in graphite: R29224

Course History

HUM 1, Dialogues with the Classics, Paul Carranza, Caroline Dever, Andrea Tarnowski, Timothy Pulju, Fall 2015

German Club, Winter 2019

GERM 03, Intermediate German, Klaus Mladek and Lisa Oberberger, Spring 2020

GERM 03, Intermediate German, Klaus Mladek and Lisa Oberberger, Spring 2020

GERM 003, Intermediate German, Lisa Oberberger, Fall 2020

GERM 003, Intermediate German, Lisa Oberberger, Fall 2020

GERM 03, Intermediate German, Lisa Oberberger, Winter 2021

GERM 03, Intermediate German, Lisa Oberberger, Spring 2021

GERM 03, Intermediate German, Klaus Mladek and Lisa Oberberger, Spring 2021

GERM 10.06, A Visual History of Germany, Heidi Denzel, Winter 2022

GERM 7.07, Babylon Berlin, Veronika Fuechtner, Spring 2022

Exhibition History

Beckmann was a prolific printmaker, producing over 350 during his lifetime, the majority between 1915 and 1923. Here, the figures are crowded together in the shallow space, barely acknowledging each other. The fish (bottom left) and the mask (top right) were frequent themes in Beckmann’s work. The fish may refer to Christ, or to fertility and regeneration. The mask, along with veils and blindfolds, suggests hidden meanings or identities, perhaps used to shield oneself from reality. In 1918, Germany was trying to recover from the trauma and suffering of World War I. Beckmann had seen this first hand—serving briefly at the front in the medical corps. After the war Beckmann often used his art to criticize the alienation and violence pervading German society.

Recent Acquisition: The Stahl Collection of European and American Art, Ivan Albright Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, August 1-December 7, 2015.

Provenance

Collected by Barbara Jaffe Stahl (1930-2004) and David Gerald Stahl (1926-2013), Manchester, New Hampshire; bequeathed to their children Susan E. Hardy, Nancy R. Wilsker, Sarah A. Stahl and John S. Stahl, 2013; given to present collection, 2014.

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