Madhouse, plate 3 from the portfolio ‘Faces’
1918
Max Beckmann titled this chaotic scene 'Madhouse,' and for good reason—he created it in 1918 after suffering a nervous breakdown from his trauma as a World War I medic. You can practically feel the anxiety radiating from the page: a man slumps in despair in the foreground, while a woman on the right gestures wildly with wide-eyed panic. The central figure, sporting an oversized hat and a smug, caricature-like grin, seems blissfully oblivious to the surrounding suffering. This piece is a quintessential example of German Expressionism, where the goal wasn't to paint a pretty picture, but to capture the raw, ugly truth of a world that had completely lost its mind.
- Technique
- Lithograph
Views: 7