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New record painting sale in Germany, expressionist Max Beckmann’s (1884-1950″) self portrait yellow-pink » (1943) was hammered at USD 20.7M at Griesbach Berlin making it the most expensive painting sold in the country. Rarely available for sale Beckmann’s self portraits are at the number of 5 in private hands. This painting was offered by Beckmann to his wife who kept it till she died in 1986. It had just changed hands once in the 90s . The colour tones are far from the dark ones used in usual Beckmann’s paintings. Beckmann strikes a pose revealing sovereignity as opposed to the humiliation his emigration entails: the work was painted in Amsterdam where Beckmann and wife had fled in 1940 fleeing Hitler’s accusations of degenerate artists. He never returned to Germany, Amsterdam offered him a very prolific painting period but he left in 1947 for NY where he died in 1950. Beckmann record was set for « Birds Hell » (1938)at USD 44M painting in 2017 at Sotheby’s NY .New record painting sale in Germany, expressionist Max Beckmann’s (1884-1950″) self portrait yellow-pink » (1943) was hammered at USD 20.7M at Griesbach Berlin making it the most expensive painting sold in the country.
Rarely available for sale Beckmann’s self portraits are at the number of 5 in private hands. This painting was offered by Beckmann to his wife who kept it till she died in 1986. It had just changed hands once in the 90s .
The colour tones are far from the dark ones used in usual Beckmann’s paintings. Beckmann strikes a pose revealing sovereignity as opposed to the humiliation his emigration entails: the work was painted in Amsterdam where Beckmann and wife had fled in 1940 fleeing Hitler’s accusations of degenerate artists. He never returned to Germany, Amsterdam offered him a very prolific painting period but he left in 1947 for NY where he died in 1950.
Beckmann record was set for « Birds Hell » (1938)at USD 44M painting in 2017 at Sotheby’s NY .