Standing Male Nude with Glasses
1919
Max Beckmann ditched the classical ideals of beauty for this raw 1919 print, created in the chaotic aftermath of World War I. Instead of a muscular god, we get a bespectacled, mustachioed man leaning awkwardly on a stool, looking almost like he just woke up. The scratchy, nervous lines are pure Expressionism, capturing the anxiety of the era rather than physical perfection. It’s a refreshingly honest look at the human body, flaws and glasses included, that feels more like a candid snapshot than a formal study.
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