Groep met daarachter drie muzikanten met strijkinstrumenten 1918 - 1919

Max Beckmann made this etching, "Group with Three Musicians with String Instruments", by scratching lines into a metal plate, like doodling but with acid. The dense hatching and cross-hatching is a process of building tone, almost like weaving, creating a visual texture that’s both murky and lively. Look how he uses these marks to define the characters crammed into the frame, from the musicians at the back to the figures in the foreground, each face a study in anxiety. The stark black and white emphasizes the emotional intensity, a quality Beckmann is known for. See that top-hatted figure on the left? The way Beckmann renders his face, with those deep, shadowed eyes, it's like he's staring right through you. That kind of direct, confrontational gaze reminds me of some of Otto Dix’s portraits. Both artists were grappling with the unease of their time. It's as if the print itself is a crowded room, full of voices and tensions, each line contributing to a complex, unresolved chord.