Fridel Battenberg auf dem Sofa sitzend (Karikatur) c. 1916 - 1917

Curator: Let’s turn our attention to a drawing by Max Beckmann from around 1916-1917 titled "Fridel Battenberg auf dem Sofa sitzend (Karikatur)". It's charcoal and chalk on paper. Editor: The caricature aspect immediately grabs you, right? It has a dejected mood, yet something about the simplified lines makes it hard to look away. Curator: It's definitely a caricature, but an intimate one, don’t you think? We see her on the sofa with her face propped up by one hand. What do you think this informal, pared-down method expresses? Editor: Maybe it speaks to the context of wartime, given the date. There is an unposed quality, she seems melancholy, worn down. We see vulnerability without the mask people often put on. Perhaps that is how the war showed itself behind closed doors, a collapse into one's inner feelings. Curator: It could well point towards a shift in artistic intention following the war. Beckmann turned away from external concerns. He started observing figures close to him as a way to observe himself in a way. There's almost a brutal honesty to how he captures her. It’s quite raw. Editor: I find it almost unflattering, actually. It's as if we are invited to witness a very private moment, but also with an implicit criticism of how wealthy bourgeois women, like Battenberg, occupied their time. Sitting around is so different from fighting for survival during those years. Curator: Interesting. You're viewing her almost as a symbol of a privileged class? I tend to view her state more broadly, reflecting that sense of disillusionment prevalent among all echelons of society. Perhaps it's about loneliness more than leisure. Editor: Well, art is so evocative because multiple interpretations can all exist! Curator: Precisely, which makes it worth engaging with. It gives us something to think about regarding a moment in time, class and personal affect. Editor: Indeed, a small sketch that holds multitudes.