Portrait of Fritz Wichert
1923
Meet Fritz Wichert, the museum director who championed modern art in Mannheim, captured here by Max Beckmann in 1923. Beckmann uses sharp, angular lines to carve out Wichert's face, giving him a gaze that feels piercingly direct and slightly weary. Although Beckmann is a giant of Expressionism, in this sketch you can see him transitioning toward a cooler, more precise style known as New Objectivity. It’s a masterclass in psychological portraiture, proving that a few scratchy lines can reveal more about a person's character than a finished oil painting ever could.