Dressing Room (Garderobe) 1921

This is “Dressing Room (Garderobe)”, made by Max Beckmann, sometime around 1921. Look at those lines, sharp and unwavering, like a map etched into metal. You can imagine him hunched over a plate, coaxing images out of the resistance of the material. I wonder, was Beckmann thinking about the theater, the way we perform ourselves? Or maybe it’s about the masks we wear, the gap between who we are and who we present ourselves to be? Look how the figures scrutinize their own faces, caught in a loop of self-observation. The stark contrasts and angular forms almost scream of German Expressionism, but it's his own distinct voice, as if he’s carving out his own space amidst the cacophony. Beckmann’s work always feels like he’s wrestling with something just out of reach, and maybe that’s the point. Maybe that’s what keeps us coming back.