Tanzendes Paar (Couple) [p. 47] 1927

Max Beckmann created this pencil sketch, titled Tanzendes Paar or Dancing Couple, on a page from a sketchbook. Beckmann made this drawing in Germany, a country whose art academies were hotbeds of traditional artistic values at the time. Although this sketch may seem relatively tame, Beckmann was a leading figure in the New Objectivity movement, which rejected sentimental idealism in favor of social critique. Look at how the angular style and coarse rendering of the figures rejects the traditional idealization of the human form, instead revealing something grotesque. The cultural and historical contexts of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Nazism profoundly influenced Beckmann's art. Beckmann's diaries are a great resource for further understanding, revealing a world of social upheaval and artistic experimentation. By examining these resources, we come to understand art as more than aesthetic form, but rather as a product of the complex social forces that shape human experience.