I don't want to eat my Soup (Original Title)Blatt 6 aus der Mappe „Day and Dream“ 1946

Max Beckmann made this etching, one of a series called “Day and Dream,” with stark lines and a directness that hits you right away. It's like he carved the scene straight from his mind. I imagine Beckmann hunched over the plate, maybe late at night, the lines coming quick and raw. What was he thinking, staring into that soup? The title itself, "I don't want to eat my soup," has a childlike defiance, a refusal, maybe an allegory to a bigger theme like being forced to accept the unpalatable? The scene feels claustrophobic, intense, like a bad dream you can’t shake. Beckmann’s art always felt like a way for him to wrestle with the world, to pin down the slippery, chaotic feelings that lurk beneath the surface. It makes me think about other artists like Goya or Ensor, who weren’t afraid to dive into the darkness. It's a reminder that we’re all in this weird, messy conversation together, trying to make sense of it all, one line, one mark at a time.