Pen and India ink drawing over pencil. Lower right signed and dated "A. [=Amsterdam] 45". Inscribed and titled "The real Don Juan" by Quappi Beckmann on the reverse. On off-white laid paper (with watermark "PT Antique"). 31 x 32.5 cm. , size of sheet. [JS].
- The exceptional artist Max Beckmann is internationally regarded as one of the most important protagonists of Modernism. - "The Real Don Juan" is a characteristic composition from Beckmann's central motif of the "World Theater", human life as a beautiful appearance full of abysses. - Beckmann's oeuvre is "beautiful and terrible like life" (M. Beckmann). - Energetic pen drawing from his exile in Amsterdam at the end of the Second World War, shortly before he emigrated to the USA. - The latest research assumes that in his diary entry of December 17, 1945 - contrary to what was previously assumed - Beckmann does not refer to a watercolor of the same title, but to the present pen drawing. - In 1943, in exile in Amsterdam, Beckmann painted the abysmal casino painting "Der Traum von Monte Carlo" (Staatsgalerie Stuttgart ), which is also a reflection on his glamorous life in the pre-war years.
The work will be included into the catalogue raisonné of drawings, scheduled for release in late 2023, compiled by Dr. Stephan von Wiese and Hedda Finke. We are grateful for the expert advvice.
