Beckmann depicts himself holding the tool needed to produce such a drypoint print. The use of tense and wiry lines testifies to his derelict state, having been discharged from the German army after suffering a complete mental and physical breakdown, Yet, his intent gaze suggests his determination to overcome his abject situation.

A challenging contrast to the Rouault lithograph shown nearby,
this print’s lightness and sharpness of line combined with
the alert facial expression of the sitter make for a strikingly
dynamic self-portrait. Beckmann was particularly interested
in the way psychology could be understood through a person’s
facial features. This informed his interest in portraiture,
particularly his preference for subjects suffering from mental
illness and those on the periphery of society. Both Beckmann
and Rouault used creative self-representation to understand and
communicate their emotional experiences.

Beckmann, like Kollwitz, produced many self-portraits
throughout his life. Portraits and self-portraits were an
important artistic genre in early 20th-century Germany. This
was part of a wider popular interest in studies of physiognomy
- what faces reveal about a person’s character. Beckmann’s
self-portrait opens a cycle of nineteen prints entitled Gesichter
(‘Faces’), which depict mentally-ill patients, wounded soldiers,
prostitutes and children playing war games. Beckmann
critically, and perhaps informally, recorded these figures with a
pen in his hand, as shown in this self-portrait.

Inscriptions / Translations:  Inscriptions, sale stamps & c: signed in pencil, l. r., within plate mark: Beckmann; inscr. in pencil, l. l.: Selbstportrat 1917

Notes:  Exhibited: 'Barber Goes North: Treasures from the Barber Institute', Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Kendal, UK, 15 October 2010 - 15 December 2010; 'Age of Expressionism', Slade School of Art, London, UK, 08 February 2011 - 25 March 2011