The StreetSheet 2 of the series 'Hell' 1919

This is Max Beckmann’s 'The Street, Sheet 2 from the series Hell.' It's an ink drawing on paper; its frenetic strokes capture a tangle of figures. I imagine Beckmann, driven by some inner fire, scratching and scribbling, trying to capture the chaos, the lunacy. What was he thinking when he made this? There's a real desperation in the marks. Look at how the lines intersect and collide, creating depth and shadow. The figures seem trapped, almost suffocated by the intensity of the drawing. This reminds me of Grosz and Dix, the way they depicted the grim realities of their time, but Beckmann’s is much more claustrophobic. Beckmann is in conversation with artists who came before him, and those who will come after. Artists, after all, are always responding to each other, challenging, and pushing the boundaries of expression, forever embracing ambiguity and uncertainty.