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Lot Essay
Titles include: The Barker (Self-Portrait); Dressing Room (Garderobe); Behind the Scenes (Hinter den Kulissen); Shooting Gallery (Schiessbude); The Tall Man (Der grosse Mann); The Negro (Der Neger); Merry-Go-Round (Das Karussell); The Tight Rope Walkers (Die Seiltänzer); Negro Dance (Niggertanz); Snake Lady (Schlangendame)
Jahrmarkt was issued in the spring of 1922 as the thirty-sixth publication of the Marées Gesellschaft by the influential publisher R. Piper & Co. in Munich. The program of this society included the publication of books and portfolios with original prints, including Gesichter by Max Beckmann, and Antike Legenden by Lovis Corinth. The ten drypoints contained in the Jahrmarkt were all executed in 1921 and rank amongst the most important graphic works by the artist. The great manual dexterity and tight control demanded from the drypoint provided the artist with an effective means to communicate his conception of art vis-à-vis its relationship to the world.
Many of the works in the portfolio were executed in Vienna, and are based on his visits to the Prater, the large amusement park. To Beckmann, the annual fair represented a microcosm of contemporary society. Subject matter comprises close-up views of characters of the fair as well as panoramic vistas of the fairground. By linking every day life with the artificiality of the theatrical world, the artist tried to express life's ephemeral existence and illusions.
Jahrmarkt was issued in the spring of 1922 as the thirty-sixth publication of the Marées Gesellschaft by the influential publisher R. Piper & Co. in Munich. The program of this society included the publication of books and portfolios with original prints, including Gesichter by Max Beckmann, and Antike Legenden by Lovis Corinth. The ten drypoints contained in the Jahrmarkt were all executed in 1921 and rank amongst the most important graphic works by the artist. The great manual dexterity and tight control demanded from the drypoint provided the artist with an effective means to communicate his conception of art vis-à-vis its relationship to the world.
Many of the works in the portfolio were executed in Vienna, and are based on his visits to the Prater, the large amusement park. To Beckmann, the annual fair represented a microcosm of contemporary society. Subject matter comprises close-up views of characters of the fair as well as panoramic vistas of the fairground. By linking every day life with the artificiality of the theatrical world, the artist tried to express life's ephemeral existence and illusions.