Max Beckmann is one of the most well-known German artists of the 20th century. With his paintings (e.g. "The Night"), portraits, self-portraits, drawings and triptychs (e.g. "Departure"), he developed his very own, highly figurative pictorial language. The painter, graphic artist and sculptor, who spent his youth in Braunschweig, was already a celebrated Expressionist artist when he was declared 'degenerate' by the National Socialists. In exile in Amsterdam, he created most of his triptychs: crowded, dynamic compositions of figures, which he depicted in exaggerated forms. After the war, he emigrated to the USA, where he received great recognition. Today, Max Beckmann's paintings are among the most important works of classic modernism.
