Max Beckmann. Departure
from 25 Nov 2022 at Neue Pinakothek
· Munich
The Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich presents an exhibition dedicated to Max Beckmann and his celebrated triptych 'Departure' (1932–35), one of the most significant works in twentieth-century German art. The show examines the painting's complex allegorical imagery — figures bound, masked, and set adrift — as a meditation on freedom, exile, and the human condition against the backdrop of rising totalitarianism.
Drawing on works from the museum's own holdings as well as loans from international collections, the exhibition traces the themes and formal strategies that Beckmann developed across his career, placing 'Departure' at the centre of a broader inquiry into myth, identity, and the artist's inner world. Visitors are invited to engage with Beckmann's distinctive blend of Expressionist intensity and classical structure, and to consider how his imagery continues to resonate today.
Drawing on works from the museum's own holdings as well as loans from international collections, the exhibition traces the themes and formal strategies that Beckmann developed across his career, placing 'Departure' at the centre of a broader inquiry into myth, identity, and the artist's inner world. Visitors are invited to engage with Beckmann's distinctive blend of Expressionist intensity and classical structure, and to consider how his imagery continues to resonate today.
About the artist
Max Beckmann
1884–1950 · Expressionism
Max Carl Friedrich Beckmann was a German painter, draftsman, printmaker, sculptor, and writer. Although he is classified as an Expressionist artist, he rejected both the term and the movement. In the 1920s, he was associated with the New Objectivity, an outgrowth of Expressionism that opposed its…
About the artist →About the venue
Neue Pinakothek
· Munich
The Neue Pinakothek is an art museum in Munich, Germany. Its focus is European Art of the 18th and 19th centuries, and it is one of the most important museums of art of the nineteenth century in the world.