The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Self-Portrait in Bowler Hat

Self-Portrait in Bowler Hat

1921
(German, 1884–1950)
Sheet: 41.5 x 33.8 cm (16 5/16 x 13 5/16 in.); Platemark: 31.6 x 24.6 cm (12 7/16 x 9 11/16 in.)
Catalogue raisonné: Hoffmaier 180
Location: not on view

Description

Max Beckmann made more than 80 self-portraits. In this one, he posed as a well-dressed gentleman who confronts the viewer with an intensely piercing gaze and a serious, melancholy expression. Framed on the left by his cat and cast shadow, on the right by a narrow vase and ashtray, and on the top by a stiff bowler hat, his face and hand project forward from the background. The art historian Paul Schmidt described Beckmann’s spatial concoctions as “supernatural,” where “the picture is governed not by the laws of the optical qualities of real phenomena, but solely by its spiritual relations.” Beckmann’s drypoint technique achieves rich, velvety shadows and strong, blurry lines, as well as angular blocks of lines that unite the different elements of the composition.
  • Graphisches Kabinett, Munich (stamped on verso, not in Lugt)
    Private collection, southern Germany
    2007
    (Ketterer Kunst, sale 315, June 2007, bought by Galerie Thomas)
    2007-
    (Galerie Thomas, Munich)
    Walter Hinterecker, Inning/Ammersee, Germany
    2008
    (Margo Pollins Schab, Inc., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    2008
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Peters, Emily J. "Graphic Discontent: The German Expressionists strove for spontaneity and unexpected results.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine vol. 58. no. 1 (January/February 2018): Cover, 5-7, 22. Reproduced and Mentioned: P. 7.
  • Graphic Discontent: German Expressionism on Paper. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (January 14-May 27, 2018).
  • {{cite web|title=Self-Portrait in Bowler Hat|url=false|author=Max Beckmann|year=1921|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2008.4