Portrait of Wolfgang Frommel [p. 25] 1944 - 1949

Max Beckmann drew this portrait of Wolfgang Frommel with graphite on paper, sometime around the mid-20th century. You can see the energy in Beckmann’s lines, darting and scratching, as he tries to capture the essence of Frommel. He’s really working those darks and lights to model the face, those frantic scribbles creating something almost sculptural. I wonder if Beckmann was feeling anxious or restless that day; that flurry of marks makes me think he might have been. Artists are always in conversation with each other, across time and space. Maybe Beckmann was thinking of some old master drawings while he was working on this, you know, trying to channel their energy and skill into his own work. And now, here we are, looking at it, adding our own thoughts and feelings to the mix. It’s like a big, ongoing game of telephone, with each artist riffing off the last.