Entwurf zu "Abstürzender" (Sketch for "Falling Man") [p. 51] 1944 - 1949

This sketch for "Falling Man" by Max Beckmann is like a visual brainstorm, a flurry of lines capturing a moment of chaos and vulnerability. You can see how Beckmann is working through ideas, the pen dancing across the page, searching for the right form. The frantic energy of the lines creates a sense of unease, mirroring the subject matter, with areas roughly shaded in brown. It’s like watching a figure caught in a nightmare, suspended between control and collapse. Notice the way the lines seem to unravel and tangle around the figure, capturing both the physical and emotional turmoil of the fall. This is the physical made psychological. Beckmann reminds me a little of Grosz, also a German artist of the same era, but with a deeper level of emotional excavation that goes beyond critique. Ultimately, this sketch is about the raw, unfiltered expression of human experience.