Zurück vom Friedhof
1946
Max Beckmann, a key figure in German Expressionism, serves up a darkly comic scene in this 1946 work titled 'Return from the Cemetery.' A group of top-hatted gentlemen, looking remarkably cheerful for mourners, strut away from a funeral procession visible in the background archway. Their attention is instantly captured by a reclining nude woman in the foreground who waves them over, suggesting that the transition from grief to desire is instantaneous. Created just after World War II, this sketch offers a cynical jab at human nature, showing how quickly life—and lust—resumes even in the shadow of death.
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