The Tightrope Walkers (Der Seiltänzer)

Max Beckmann was a painter, printmaker, draftsman, sculptor, and writer. In the 1920s, he became associated with the New Objectivity (Neue Sachlichkeit), a movement that rejected the self-involvement and romantic longings of the expressionists. He volunteered as a medical orderly during the First World War, after which his style developed from realistic to distorted depictions of both figure and space, reflecting his changed vision of humanity.

Beckmann is known for the many self-portraits he made throughout his life, and that tendency is evident in this portfolio as well. The opening image features the artist himself in the role of carnival barker. From this position, Beckmann both participates in and comments on a world that he sees as a microcosm of society. In particular, the alienation evident in the faces of the carnival performers speaks to the modern human condition. Most telling, perhaps, are Beckmann's own words about The Tightrope Walkers, which he described to his first wife Minna as "a portrait of ourselves," implying that even in the most intimate relationships there is a degree of isolation that prevents individuals from fully connecting.