Beckmann Sketchbook 9 1915 - 1916

This is Max Beckmann's Sketchbook 9, a personal book of sorts created by the German artist who lived through both World Wars. Beckmann was a trained painter, printmaker, sculptor, and writer. It’s important to remember that Beckmann lived through a period of intense political and social upheaval in Germany. He was dismissed from his teaching position, his art was labeled as degenerate by the Nazis, and he was forced to flee to Amsterdam. This sketchbook becomes a document, reflecting Beckmann’s experience of displacement and exile, as well as the broader themes of alienation and anxiety. The artist once said that he was “trying to find the bridge which leads from the visible to the invisible.” These pages offer insight into the artist's innermost thoughts, fears, and observations. We can see the development of his ideas, his struggles with form and composition, and his attempts to make sense of a world in turmoil. In these sketches, we witness not just the hand of the artist, but also the heart and mind of a man grappling with the complexities of the human condition.