Portrait of quappi in blue 1926

Max Beckmann made this portrait of Quappi in blue paint, and I'm imagining the canvas propped up in his studio, maybe in Paris or Amsterdam. The painting has a kind of raw intensity. It's almost like Beckmann is chiseling away at the surface to reveal her essence. Check out the blues he's using, they are far from serene, right? They've got this weight and depth to them, almost oppressive, like the color is a metaphor for something deeper. The face is so direct, and those eyes stare right through you. She is confronting something, or being confronted. I'm thinking about other painters like Otto Dix or even Paula Modersohn-Becker, who were pushing the boundaries of portraiture, trying to capture something beyond just the surface likeness. There is an ongoing conversation between artists across time!