Female Dancer c. 1935 - 1958

bronze, sculpture

17_20th-century

woman

light pencil work

quirky sketch

pen sketch

incomplete sketchy

bronze

personal sketchbook

ink drawing experimentation

sculpture

pen-ink sketch

expressionism

sketchbook drawing

sketchbook art

initial sketch

"Female Dancer" is a pencil drawing by German Expressionist painter Max Beckmann, created sometime between 1935 and 1958. The artwork depicts a group of trees in a forest setting, rendered with detailed hatching and shading. Though titled "Female Dancer", there is no depiction of a dancer in the composition, suggesting it may be a study or a preliminary sketch for a larger work. The drawing's minimalist approach and emphasis on form are characteristic of Beckmann's style, often reflecting themes of isolation and introspection in his work.

Comments

stadelmuseum over 1 year ago

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Beckmann only ever made eight sculptures and, in their production, was influenced by topics that preoccupied him his entire life, such as dance and vaudeville. Beckmann’s “Dancer” poises in a deep split and bends her upper body far forward, with her head nearly touching a shin. Beckmann does not show the young woman on stage. Rather, he caught a moment in which the dancer seems to stretch. All the virtuosity and lightness that is usually associated with dance has left the figure. With her narrow, crouched pose and rather ungainly limbs, Beckmann created a decidedly unusual sculpture. It illustrates his idea of the existential threats to human existence, which he experienced as being determined by hardship and struggles against dark forces.