Max Beckmann: The World as a Stage
The first exhibition to focus on this central theme in the work of the painter, thus enabling a new look at an exceptional artist of the twentieth century.
Many works by Max Beckmann (1884–1950) depict the world of theater, circus, and vaudeville. The topic of putting on a show inspired him during his entire career. His paintings bring the “world theater,” the Baroque way of seeing the world as a stage, into the modern age. In light of the artist’s experiences in World War I and the dramatic political developments during his years in exile after 1937, Beckmann employed “the world as a stage” as a symbol for the catastrophic situation that prevailed at the time in global affairs. To deal with this, the painter transformed his images into a stage for his art.
VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2020; Photo: Helge Mundt
Max Beckmann: Dancer (Split), 1935, Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig
“Beckmann’s powerful painting, with which he divides the picture surface into individual facets and shows the actors in disjointed interaction, with roles and plots we do not know, is just as topical today as it was at the time it was created. Beckmann’s painting conveys this basic experience of the modern era and challenges individuals to question the figures and to choose their own role in the world theater.”
The exhibition brought together 112 loans from museums and private collections in Germany and abroad, including the Nationalgalerie in Berlin, the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Düsseldorf, the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, the Tate in London, and the Saint Louis Art Museum. Among the works on display were also two large triptychs from American collections that have rarely been shown in Europe. The exhibition was held in cooperation with the Kunsthalle Bremen, which houses one of the largest collections of works by Beckmann in Germany.
Retrospect
The exhibition attracted around 90,000 guests. An extensive accompanying program with lectures, children’s and special interest tours, a film series, performances such as a children’s circus, and conversations with Cem Özdemir, Ulrich Matthes, Harald Welzer, and others gave visitors the opportunity to experience Beckmann’s idea of the world as a stage.
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