MAX BECKMANN (1884-1950)

Der Traum I (Totenklage)

Details

MAX BECKMANN (1884-1950)
Der Traum I (Totenklage)
drypoint
1923-24
on wove paper
signed in pencil, titled and inscribed Totenklage (Probedruck) and dated 23
a very fine, early proof impression, printing with much burr and a subtle plate tone
one of a small number of trial proofs, Hofmaier's state A (of B.d.)
before the edition of ten impressions on Japan paper and approximately 25 on wove paper
probably the full sheet, a deckle edge above
very pale staining in the margins, otherwise in good condition
Plate 46,1 x 21,4 cm. (18 1⁄8 x 8 3⁄8 in.)
Sheet 62,1 x 36 cm. (24 3⁄8 x 14 1⁄8 in.)

Provenance

The Estate of the late Ethel S. Paul; Christie's, New York, 31 October 2005, lot 91.
Acquired at the above sale; then by descent to the present owners.

Literature

J. Hofmaier, Max Beckmann - Catalogue raisonné of his Prints, Bern, 1990, no. 302, pp. 742-743.

Exhibited

St Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum, Max Beckmann – Works from Museum and Private Collections of Hamburg and Lübeck, November 2007 – January 2008, no. 89 (ill.), p. 140.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

Hofmaier dated this print to 1924, but the inscription on this impression suggests that Beckmann began working on it in 1923 and printed at least the present trial proof at the end of that year. It may thus be the earliest known example of this large and impressive print, which combines the realistic depiction of a wake with surreal, rather nightmarish elements, as the woman's requiem is played by two animals dressed in carnival costumes.

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