Max Beckmann, the landscapes

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Max Beckmann is one of the titans of modernism, although he considered himself the last Old Master. This publication examines the artist's landscape paintings, which are less characterized by allegorical layers of meaning than his works in other genres. Their splendid painterly qualities are immediately perceptible. The starting point for these landscapes was a potent experience of nature. Frequently, personal objects appear in the foreground like remnants of still lifes, making the viewer aware of the artist's presence. But the paintings are also realistic representations of places the artist visited, and Beckmann referred to photographs or postcards of these sites as part of his creative process. Further inspirations came from art itself: flashes of Beckmann's immense knowledge of art history can be seen in his citations of other works. Thus, his landscapes can be regarded as a kind of summary of his understanding of the world.