weibliches Profilbildnis (Female Profile) [p. 19] 1927

Curator: Max Beckmann's pencil drawing, "weibliches Profilbildnis (Female Profile)," created around 1927, is our focal point today. What springs to mind when you first look at it? Editor: It's almost dreamlike, wouldn't you say? The delicate lines, the sparse detail… like a fleeting thought captured on paper. Makes me feel quiet. Curator: It's intriguing how Beckmann could convey so much with so little. The pencil strokes are quite deliberate, aren't they? The material constraints imposed by pencil on paper seemingly encouraged distillation. Note the hatching he uses for shadow to suggest form and mood without fully defining it. It speaks volumes about artistic choices and accessible media. Editor: Absolutely, there's a deliberate crudeness, a raw vulnerability there, that I think the choice of pencil really heightens. I imagine him sketching this woman quickly, maybe in a cafe. It is all about being a direct link, where the drawing captures the essential. I find I'm immediately curious, it asks, “who *was* she?" I see sadness etched on her face, wouldn't you agree? Or perhaps world-weariness? Curator: Certainly a pensive mood. The economic context in Germany during that time likely had an effect on him and, conceivably, his model. Considering he was working within Expressionism during that period, how do you think its techniques manifest here? Editor: Good point! While relatively subtle, it shares expressionism's tendency toward emotional exaggeration, that almost caricatured quality that amplifies her internal state, and uses stark and heavy line and form to define that emotional experience in its immediacy. The deep hatching also evokes something heavier in a post-war era...it almost has weight. Curator: Indeed. I find myself drawn to the precision around her eyes, especially compared to the more gestural strokes of her hair and dress. The quality of labor is visibly uneven which adds intrigue. It really speaks to his specific and studied mark-making choices as an artist. Editor: Yes! To be honest, it's tempting to invent a story for her, to project all kinds of narratives. And ultimately that's part of its enduring power, it lets me, and maybe invites me, to do that, and lets me in. Curator: I completely agree. Thinking about its cultural context and even Beckmann's own artistic progression is certainly crucial to appreciating it... Editor: But allowing ourselves to simply feel the weight of that line, the curve of her profile...it’s that which gives it its lingering impact.