Portrait of Marie Swarzenski c. 1927
maxbeckmann
stadelmuseum
drawing
portrait
17_20th-century
drawing
oil painting
portrait reference
german
acrylic on canvas
animal drawing portrait
portrait drawing
facial portrait
portrait art
watercolor
fine art portrait
digital portrait
"Portrait of Marie Swarzenski" is a charcoal and pastel drawing on paper by Max Beckmann, created in 1927. It depicts a woman in a simple, dark brown jacket, her head turned slightly to the side, with a pensive expression. Beckmann's use of expressive lines and bold colors creates a sense of emotional intensity in the portrait, highlighting his distinctive style within the New Objectivity movement. This work, now housed in the Städel Museum, is a powerful example of Beckmann's ability to capture the inner lives of his subjects through formal portraiture.
Comments
Georg Swarzenski (1876–1957) – a onetime director of the Städelsches Kunstinstitut – and his wife Marie belonged to the circle around Max Beckmann in Frankfurt. Here the artist captured Marie Swarzenski (1889–1967) in a pastel drawing. The soft crayons enabled him to ‘paint’ by overlapping and blurring the lines. Owing to their light hues in contrast to the brownish paper, they also lent themselves well to creating a sense of plasticity and strong light values. The figure appears lifelike and three-dimensional. At the same time, she avoids direct eye contact to the viewer so that, however captivating, the portrait also has an unapproachable quality.
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