Rugby players 1929

Max Beckmann made this painting, Rugby players, with oil paint, using a palette that seems to be both somber and saturated at the same time. Beckmann’s painting is full of these bulky, angular figures, struggling together. The paint is laid on with a kind of blunt force. Nothing is blended or softened; every shape is clearly delineated. It’s like he’s carving these forms into the canvas. Look at the raised hand near the center. It’s almost comical, isn't it? The fingers are splayed out, and each one is defined with a thick, dark outline. It’s like a diagram of a hand, rather than a real hand. It's pretty strange and I think it really sums up the image. Beckmann was really interested in German Expressionism, like his contemporary Otto Dix. But unlike those artists, there's something enduringly, darkly humorous about his vision.