Beckmann for Boijmans
The German Expressionist painting Apollo by Max Beckmann has been added to thecollection, thanks to the support of the Vereniging Rembrandt. The work wasacquired from and partly donated by the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky CharitableTrust, which had previously donated twenty works.
Apollo (1942) is the second painting by Max Beckmann (1884-1950) in the collection of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, along with 28 drawings, the 1946 print portfolio Day and Dream and seven other graphic works by Beckmann.
Thanks in part to the Rembrandt Society, the oil painting is on display to the public in the acquisitions display case at Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen and will be included in the permanent collection from the museum’s reopening.
The contrasts in the work – painted in Amsterdam during the war years – represent reason triumphing over madness. ‘Apollo’ contains the characteristic symbolic meaning that Beckmann’s famous triptychs also have, and is an enigmatic and oppressive painting that shows how the artist reflected on the world around him.
Image caption: Apollo, Max Beckmann, 1942. Oil on canvas; 69.5 x 89.5 cm. Partial purchase with support from the Rembrandt Society (thanks in part to its Modern Art Theme Fund, its Dura Art Fund and the Prince Bernhard Culture Fund) and the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Foundation / partial donation from the Marie Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust.