MoMA

German Expressionism

Works from the Collection


Styles Themes Techniques | Artists Print Publishers | Illustrated Books Portfolios Periodicals | Maps Chronology

THE COLLECTION

Search Results

Showing 1 of 1

From the portfolio

View All
  • Max Beckmann. Self-Portrait (Selbstbildnis) from Day and Dream. (1946)
    Self-Portrait (Selbstbildnis) from...
    (1946)
    Max Beckmann. Self-Portrait (Selbstbildnis) from Day and Dream. (1946)
  • Max Beckmann. Weather-Vane (Wetterfahne) from Day and Dream. (1946)
    Weather-Vane (Wetterfahne) from...
    (1946)
    Max Beckmann. Weather-Vane (Wetterfahne) from Day and Dream. (1946)
  • Max Beckmann. Sleeping Athlete (Schlafender Athlet) from Day and Dream. (1946)
    Sleeping Athlete (Schlafender Athlet)...
    (1946)
    Max Beckmann. Sleeping Athlete (Schlafender Athlet) from Day and Dream. (1946)
  • Max Beckmann. Tango from Day and Dream. (1946)
    Tango from Day and Dream
    (1946)
    Max Beckmann. Tango from Day and Dream. (1946)
  • Max Beckmann. Crawling Woman (Kriechende Frau) from Day and Dream. (1946)
    Crawling Woman (Kriechende Frau)...
    (1946)
    Max Beckmann. Crawling Woman (Kriechende Frau) from Day and Dream. (1946)
  • Max Beckmann. I Don't Want to Eat My Soup (Ich esse meine Suppe nicht) from Day and Dream. 1946
    I Don't Want to Eat My Soup (Ich esse...
    1946
    Max Beckmann. I Don't Want to Eat My Soup (Ich esse meine Suppe nicht) from Day and Dream. 1946
  • Max Beckmann. Dancing Couple (Tanzpaar) from Day and Dream. (1946)
    Dancing Couple (Tanzpaar) from Day...
    (1946)
    Max Beckmann. Dancing Couple (Tanzpaar) from Day and Dream. (1946)
  • Max Beckmann. King and Demagogue (König und Demagoge) from Day and Dream. (1946)
    King and Demagogue (König und...
    (1946)
    Max Beckmann. King and Demagogue (König und Demagoge) from Day and Dream. (1946)
  • Max Beckmann. The Buck (Der Bock) from Day and Dream. (1946)
    The Buck (Der Bock) from Day and...
    (1946)
    Max Beckmann. The Buck (Der Bock) from Day and Dream. (1946)
  • Max Beckmann. Dream of War (Der Traum vom Krieg) from Day and Dream. (1946)
    Dream of War (Der Traum vom Krieg)...
    (1946)
    Max Beckmann. Dream of War (Der Traum vom Krieg) from Day and Dream. (1946)
  • Max Beckmann. Morning (Der Morgen) from Day and Dream. (1946)
    Morning (Der Morgen) from Day and...
    (1946)
    Max Beckmann. Morning (Der Morgen) from Day and Dream. (1946)
  • Max Beckmann. Circus (Zirkus) from Day and Dream. (1946)
    Circus (Zirkus) from Day and...
    (1946)
    Max Beckmann. Circus (Zirkus) from Day and Dream. (1946)
  • Max Beckmann. Magic Mirror (Zauberspiegel) from Day and Dream. (1946)
    Magic Mirror (Zauberspiegel) from...
    (1946)
    Max Beckmann. Magic Mirror (Zauberspiegel) from Day and Dream. (1946)
  • Max Beckmann. The Fall of Man (Sündenfall) from Day and Dream. (1946)
    The Fall of Man (Sündenfall)...
    (1946)
    Max Beckmann. The Fall of Man (Sündenfall) from Day and Dream. (1946)
  • Max Beckmann. Christ and Pilate (Christus und Pilatus) from Day and Dream. (1946)
    Christ and Pilate (Christus und Pilatus)...
    (1946)
    Max Beckmann. Christ and Pilate (Christus und Pilatus) from Day and Dream. (1946)

About the portfolio

Heather Hess, German Expressionist Digital Archive Project, German Expressionism: Works from the Collection. 2011.

Max Beckmann blended the real and the imaginary in his final print cycle, Day and Dream, filtering autobiographical elements from his exile in Holland, biblical and mythological tales, and scenes of sexual conflict through his vision of the world as a circus or theater. Oblivious lovers dance while the figure War slumbers, threatening to awake at any moment. Demagogues rise. Children refuse to eat their soup. Beckmann here revisited subjects he had explored throughout his career, suggesting that nothing changes and everything comes back.

Beckmann depicted himself throughout the portfolio, appearing as a figure who has seen and experienced it all. In the final print, he stands as Pontius Pilate across from the crucified Jesus. After another world war, Beckmann held little hope for salvation—for himself or for humanity.

PUBLISHING HISTORY

In 1946, the New York gallerist Curt Valentin commissioned Beckmann to make a portfolio of prints for the American market. Valentin, a German expatriate and instrumental supporter of artists persecuted by the Nazis, left the choices of subject matter and medium to the artist. Beckmann, who had not made prints since 1942, responded enthusiastically to the offer, writing to Valentin that he was "teeming with ideas." This resulting portfolio of fifteen lithographs, initially titled Time-Motion, sums up a lifetime of his artistic themes.

Max Beckmann (German, 1884–1950)

The Portfolio

Day and Dream

Date:
1946
Medium:
Portfolio of fifteen lithographs
Dimensions:
composition (irreg., each approx.): 12 13/16 x 10 3/4" (32.6 x 27.3 cm); sheet (various dimensions, see child records): 15 3/4 x 11 13/16" (40 x 30 cm)
Paper:
Cream, smooth, wove.
Publisher:
Curt Valentin, New York
Printer:
unknown, probably Amsterdam, Netherlands
Edition:
approx. 110 (including 90 in the portfolio [this ex.], 10 as single prints, and 10 artist's proofs); plus a few trial proofs
Credit Line:
Purchase
Copyright:
© 2016 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
Reference:
Gallwitz 288-303. Hofmaier 357-371. Rifkind 151 1-15.
MoMA Number:
1.1947.1-15
Themes:
Fantasy
Share by E-mail
Share by Text Message