Ram head c. 1919

Curator: What a striking image. This is "Ram Head," a pencil drawing from around 1919 by Max Beckmann. It's currently housed here at the Städel Museum. Editor: My first impression? A slightly anxious energy, oddly gentle despite those horns. The animal's got a sort of wide-eyed innocence that's… unexpected. Curator: That naiveté clashes brilliantly with Beckmann's established style during that era. Consider the context, the immediate post-war years in Germany. You’d expect harsher lines, more explicit social commentary. Editor: True. You almost anticipate some tortured soul gazing out at you. Instead, it's this wide-eyed ram, rendered so delicately with pencil on toned paper. There's very little weight in those lines. Curator: I think that very lightness speaks volumes about the pervasive feeling of fragility at the time. Expressionism often grapples with trauma through exaggeration. Here, Beckmann seems to use the opposite approach—a sort of hesitant observation. The gaze is almost imploring, like a witness asking "What have we done?". Editor: An interesting theory. The choice of subject too; is it merely an exercise, or something deeper? The ram has mythological connotations. Power, virility… maybe it's a commentary on lost strength. Curator: Possibly. Or perhaps it’s more about sacrifice? Think of the sacrificial ram in religious contexts, the animal bearing the weight of atonement. It invites a discussion on blame, responsibility... something Germany was heavily steeped in at that moment in history. Editor: And Beckmann himself struggled greatly with the war, right? Serving as a medical orderly, suffering a breakdown. Makes you wonder how many of these images – drawings in general from the period - acted as emotional dumping grounds in a moment of immense upheaval and trauma.. Curator: Exactly. I think this work demonstrates the immense capacity art has for processing not just historical events, but personal grief too, often intertwined inextricably together. Editor: So, it's not just a ram's head, is it? It’s a loaded portrait of a broken moment. Well, I won’t look at sheep the same way anytime soon. Curator: Indeed. It encourages us to re-evaluate preconceived ideas and dig deeper, every single time we engage.