Männliche Bildnisstudie (Male Portrait Study) [p. 60] 

Curator: Let's take a moment with this work by Max Beckmann titled "Männliche Bildnisstudie," or "Male Portrait Study," rendered simply in pencil. What springs to mind for you? Editor: He looks troubled, doesn't he? Almost like he's caught mid-thought, or perhaps startled by something. The lines are so immediate, scratchy almost, like Beckmann's trying to get the essence of this man down as quickly as possible. Curator: Indeed. Notice how Beckmann has captured the form so economically, yet there's real volume in the face. A basic medium—pencil—applied with immense skill. These rapid strokes might relate to expressionist practice and portraiture that capture emotional intensity beyond mere physical likeness. Editor: I think what really grabs me are the eyes. They're enormous and staring. It feels voyeuristic almost, like we're intruding on a private moment. Or maybe he sees right through us? It is unsettling in its immediacy. Curator: That intensity could also connect with Beckmann’s experiences during the First World War. After serving as a medical orderly, he suffered a nervous breakdown. Perhaps this drawing is imbued with the anxiety of that era and also post-war disillusionment. What can be read as exaggeration is not that, but real suffering. Editor: I can see that. There's a rawness to the sketch that hints at something deeper, a wound perhaps. Also, it feels as though he didn't care so much about "finish" as about just capturing the essence of human experience. Curator: Exactly, it moves us away from idealisation of figure, toward realism that grapples with difficult truths. It allows viewers to be in proximity with the vulnerable aspects of lived human reality. Editor: This portrait serves not as a reflection but rather as a deep probe, don't you agree? Curator: Absolutely, a vivid glimpse behind an individual exterior—perhaps toward the artist’s own inner turmoil, and potentially even of wider collective struggles. Editor: I leave with lingering gaze toward these penciled lines that encapsulate profound emotions! Curator: I completely concur! The power and expressiveness embedded in everyday materials leaves quite an impact, indeed!