Details einer Häuserfassade (Details of a Facade) [p. 33] 

Editor: This intriguing pencil and ink drawing, "Details einer Häuserfassade," or "Details of a Facade," comes to us from Max Beckmann. It's hard to pinpoint the exact year it was created, but I am immediately drawn to its raw, almost frantic energy. It looks like the artist captured a fleeting moment. What catches your eye in this piece? Curator: Well, its immediacy sings to me. It reminds me of the jumbled noise and disjointed feelings of simply walking through the city. The tilted lines give the impression that it could come crashing down any second, almost reflecting how society felt in the Interwar period. Don’t you feel a sort of tense energy as you view it? Like a city holding its breath? Editor: Absolutely! It’s as if Beckmann wasn't just sketching a building, but the feeling of urban anxiety. It has something that transcends the actual subject matter... How do you think its being a drawing affects our perception of it, compared to, say, a finished painting of a cityscape? Curator: Ah, the beauty of the sketch! A painting implies completion, a certain resolution. But here, we’re privy to the artist's thought process. Each line a tentative exploration, a question asked. Think of it as the whisper before the shout, the first flicker of an idea that might become a roaring flame. Editor: That’s a very potent image. The sketch as a whisper before the shout. Thanks so much! Curator: My pleasure, this one really got me thinking!