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Title: Max Beckmann : Retrospektive by Max Beckmann ISBN: 3-7913-0607-3 Publisher: Prestel-Verlag Pub. Date: 1984 Format: Unknown Binding

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Average Customer Rating: 5 (1 review)

Rating: 5
Summary: The Definitive Book on Max Beckmann
Comment: With the increasing importance of German art upon the contemporary art scene, and the persistent development of "Neo-Expressionism", Max Beckmann's stature as one of the giants of modernist painting has continued to grow. Yet as recently as 1984, museums in New York, London, and Paris were able to reject a major retrospective of Beckmann's work (a mistake they are only now able rectify). This exhibition eventually traveled from Munich and Berlin, to St. Louis and Los Angeles. "Max Beckmann Retrospective," the catalog of that exhibition is easily "the definitive book" on Beckmann and his art, and will probably lay claim to that title for some time to come.
This thick, exhaustive study begins with some 170+ pages of critical and historical essays by 13 different authors, exploring Beckmann's art from a plethora of angles. Beckmann's work as a painter, a portraitist, a printmaker, and a sculptor is all examined. His relationships to urban life, to WWI and WWII, to his exile in Holland, and his eventual move to the United States are all considered at some length. Nearly every work in the exhibition is represented with a full-color reproduction and is accompanied by an in-depth, and well thought out commentary. The text of this book alone is worth the price of admission; it is thoughtful, relevant and well written, and it thankfully avoids the current fashion for Foucault-infected "artspeak".
The reproductions, however, are the crowning glory of this book. To call this volume "lavishly illustrated" would be something of an understatement. There are over 150 good-sized color reproductions of paintings, drawings, watercolors, and prints. Like Matisse or Bonnard, Beckmann was one of the great colorists of the 20th century. His brilliant hues, surrounded by anxious lines of bituminous black often evoke the beauty of medieval stained glass and demand to be seen in full glorious color. Every last painting in this retrospective (and there were 131 of them) is shown in full color! Many key works not included in this exhibition, are reproduced (in color) elsewhere in the text. Add to this a couple hundred black and white images (reproductions, photographs), and an extensive biography and you have one of the true "must have" books for any one interested in Beckmann or modern art in general. This book may be hard to find, but it is well worth the effort!