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Max Beckmann

The Merry-Go-Round

Maker

Max Beckmann (German, 1884-1950)
Franz Seraph Hanfstaengl (ca. 1922), printer
Marèes-Gesellschaft, publisher
R. Piper and Co. (German, ca. 1922), publisher

Title

The Merry-Go-Round
from the portfolio The Annual Fair (Jahrmarkt)
Jahrmarkt

Year

1922

Medium

  • Etching and drypoint on paper

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Etching and drypoint on paper

Materials

etching, drypoint

Supports

  • medium weight cream wove paper

Dimensions

54.6 x 40.6 cm (21 1/2 x 16 inches) (mount)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Original--signed in pencil by artist

Marks: Watermark on colophon; oval shape and embossed blind stamp on LR under plate.

Identification

Edition

105/200

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Museum Works of Art Fund

Object Number

53.117.7

Type

  • Prints

Exhibition History

Dreams and Nightmares
German Graphic Arts, 1900 - 1933
Nov 05, 2004 – Jan 23, 2005

Label copy

Whereas August Sander photographed circus people as distinct social types, Max Beckmann identified with their position as outsiders. The Fair portfolio opens with a portrait of Beckmann as a barker, rounding up customers for the “Circus Beckmann.” Self-portraits are scattered throughout the portfolio, in which the fair is a metaphor for the marketplace of life. In The Tall Man, the artist is represented twice: as a spectator in the left corner and as the sideshow freak, presented to the audience by a caricature of Beckmann’s publisher, I.B. Neumann. The fairground ride at the back is labeled “Panopticum,” a comment on the visual display of the artist. Even The Tightrope Walkers depicts the artist, a mysterious sheeted figure precariously balancing as he steps towards his first wife, Minna.

German Expressionist Prints and Drawings
Jun 20, 1986 – Aug 16, 1986
Contemporary Prints
Recent Acquisitions
Jun 09, 1953 – Dec 11, 1953

Related Objects

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Max Beckmann

The Annual Fair (Jahrmarkt)

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Tombstone

Max Beckmann (German, 1884-1950)
Franz Seraph Hanfstaengl (ca. 1922), printer
Marèes-Gesellschaft, publisher
R. Piper and Co. (German, ca. 1922), publisher
The Merry-Go-Round; from the portfolio The Annual Fair (Jahrmarkt); Jahrmarkt, 1922
Etching and drypoint on paper
54.6 x 40.6 cm (21 1/2 x 16 inches) (mount)
Museum Works of Art Fund 53.117.7

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