Dimensions 61.0 x 46.0 cm
Max Beckmann made this painting of mimosas at some point in his life, with oil on canvas. Look at the sharp lines and vibrant colors, especially that vivid red-orange curtain and the yellow flowers popping against the green. I can only imagine him carefully choosing each color, then deliberately applying paint, maybe reworking sections again and again until they felt just right. I’m drawn to the vase with the mimosas. There’s a kind of tension, like the flowers are about to burst out of the frame. It reminds me of other still life paintings where artists use objects to explore feelings. Beckmann brings a certain weightiness, doesn’t he? I think he is in conversation with the works of other artists like Matisse who also use light and colour to evoke feeling. What do you think he was feeling as he created this piece?
Comments
“Gently propelled by mild folly, humanity skips from flower to flower” (diary entry, 27 June 1944). An empty glass, a closed book and a blossoming bouquet of mimosas, arranged on a white tablecloth, suggest a cheerful mood. But the mimosa is a flower that curls its leaves within seconds when it is touched, which is why it is used to symbolize people of a sensitive disposition. Adorning the cover of the book is the name of the Enlightenment philosopher Voltai[re]. Thus the still life can be seen as an allegory of a time of great political uncertainty, which Beckmann is endeavouring to face through his painting.
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