Jahrmarkt (Annual Fair): Der Ausrufer (The Announcer)

Date1921

Maker Max Beckmann German, 1884-1950

Label TextWhile serving in the German medical corps in World War I, Beckmann suffered a nervous collapse. In the aftermath of the war he felt that modern society was walking on the edge of disaster. In his suite of prints titled Annual Fair Beckmann used carnival themes to satirize human folly and cruelty. He reveals the barely masked existential sadness of people cavorting on the merry-go-round. Contemplating life's constraints Beckmann once wrote: "Everywhere I find deep lines of beauty in the suffering of this terrible fate."

Object number69.47.1

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Five Installations on the Fourth Floor: Unpretty Pictures", June 26, 1997, (6/26/1997)

Credit LineEugene Fuller Memorial Collection

Dimensions13 1/16 x 10 1/8 in. (33.2 x 25.7cm)

MediumEtching and drypoint