Magic Mirror (Original Title)Blatt 13 aus der Mappe „Day and Dream“ 1946

Max Beckmann made this etching, *Magic Mirror,* as part of a portfolio, and it feels like a stage set, all a bit wonky and dreamlike. Beckmann's cross-hatching is so intense, it builds form but also traps the image, like the figures are caged. Look how he uses the hatching to make the mirror shimmer and reflect, even though it's just lines on paper! The woman on the table looks in the mirror, but what does she see? Are the figures trapped beneath the table her reflection, her inner self? It feels like a tense, psychological space. Beckmann went through a lot in his life, two world wars, and you get a sense of that angst and anxiety here. The composition reminds me a bit of Picasso, but with a dark, German Expressionist twist. Ultimately, it's about the ambiguity of identity. What is real, and what is just a reflection?