Selbstbildnis mit steifem Hut (Self-Portrait in Bowler Hat) 1921
print, drypoint
portrait
self-portrait
german-expressionism
figuration
expressionism
line
drypoint
Dimensions 12 9/16 x 9 9/16 in. (31.91 x 24.29 cm) (plate)17 1/4 × 12 3/8 in. (43.82 × 31.43 cm) (sheet)
This Self-Portrait in Bowler Hat was made by Max Beckmann with etching on paper. Just imagine him, pulling a line, pulling another. Dark, tense, and full of this amazing chiaroscuro. The work is a tight composition, and I think that's the key to the artist’s psyche. It is as if Beckmann wanted to trap himself within a specific set of parameters. What’s he thinking? Maybe he is thinking about modern anxiety, or how we construct identity through clothing? He is wearing a hat, but behind him is a figure in shadow. The scratches of the etching communicate so much feeling. They show his intention, his mark-making, and his line, reminiscent of other artists like Kathe Kollwitz. Artists look, and respond to each other's work. You can feel Beckmann responding to the world. In the end, art is embodied expression. It’s about embracing ambiguity. There's no single way to read a painting, right?
Comments
In this 1921 self-portrait Beckmann depicts himself as a dandy with a bowler hat, stiff collar, and cigarette. The profile of a cat sitting on a table behind him to the left and an ashtray and kerosene lamp to his right fill out the tight composition. Beckmann created about eighty self-portraits over a career that spanned virtually half a century. He used his own image and persona to delve into the complexities of the human soul, showing the variety of selves that make up an individual. In Self-Portrait in Bowler Hat, Beckmann shows that he is every bit the modern man, confident in his powers of observation and cool, critical detachment.
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