Widely regarded as one of the most important painters of the 20th Century, German artist Max Beckmann created a singular position in the history of art through a figurative language of extraordinary psychological depth, resisting categorization within expressionism and new objectivity. Ahead of Art Basel 2026, a dedicated exhibition on the artist—curated in close collaboration with his granddaughter, Mayen Beckmann—will open at the Basel gallery this June.
Shaped by a life lived between two World Wars and culminating in his emigration to the United States in 1947, Beckmann’s work bears witness to the psychological intensity and moral fractures of the inter-war period. The exhibition spans the entirety of the artist’s career and brings together his brooding social allegories with luminous landscapes and portraits, revealing a tension between intimacy and the brutality of the 20th Century.
Selbstbildnis mit Seifenblasen (Self-Portrait With Soap Bubbles), c. 1900. Courtesy Private Collection, Germany. Photo: ARTOTHEK
About the Artist
Max Beckmann (1884 – 1950) was a leading German painter of modern art, engaging with expressionism, the New Objectivity movement and cubism.
His experience as a medical orderly during World War I profoundly shaped his artistic vision, developing a distinctive style marked by bold black outlines, figurative forms and symbolism. Exploring themes such as identity, power and human suffering, he captured the complexity and uncertainty of modern life.
After being labelled a ‘degenerate artist’ by the Nazi regime, he went into exile, first in the Netherlands and later in the United States, where he continued to paint and teach. Today, Beckmann is regarded as one of the most important figurative artists of the 20th Century.
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