Park [p. 8-9] 

Max Beckmann sketched this park scene in pencil, capturing a moment of natural repose. Note the presence of an apparent body, floating horizontally. This motif has haunted art since antiquity. Recall the floating figures in Marcantonio Raimondi's engraving, 'The Dream of Raphael,' a vision of a reclining figure. Similarly, Beckmann's floating figure is less concerned with earthly constraints, and more about dreamlike visions and the subconscious. This suspension, this freedom from gravity, is a powerful symbol. In early Christian art, the floating body is the 'ascension', the soul's departure. But here, detached from religious context, the horizontal body evokes a sense of unease and liberation. It suggests a confrontation with mortality, where the body is liberated from earthly bounds, yet also vulnerable and exposed. This primal fear and longing, deeply embedded in our collective memory, resurfaces here.