Jahrmarkt (Annual Fair): Hinter den Kulissen (Behind the Scenes)

1921

German, 1884-1950

While 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."

Drypoint

20 3/4 x 15 1/8in. (52.7x 38.4cm)

Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection

69.47.3

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Anselm Kiefer and Germanic Tradition",
June 4, 1999 - January 2, 2000

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