Max Beckmann On My Painting

Max Beckmann (1884-1950) is widely regarded as one of the most important figurative painters of the last 100 years, and On My Painting is one of the key texts essential for understanding his work. Composed in 1938, it was read by Beckmann at the opening of the 20th-Century German Art exhibition in London, a riposte to the Degenerate Art exhibition that Hitler held to pillory the work of Beckmann and other figures of the avant-garde. In his lecture, Beckmann outlined his artistic as well as his moral and spiritual vision, providing a unique insight into his complex work.