‘Portrait of the family Lütjens’ by Max Beckmann

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Harlequin
19
00:19

Harlequin

The young Annemarie on the painting is holding a harlequin doll while pointing at it with her left hand. This harlequin was added by the artist. Later, after the portrait was finished, Beckmann gave Annemarie a real harlequin that looked very different from the one on the painting. Beckmann often used clowns and other circus artists in his work. In his paintings he wanted to depict the essence, the reality behind the visual world. The theatre and circus figures symbolise the ‘masks’ that people wear to hide their true identity. In the ‘Portrait of the Lütjens Family’ the harlequin may very well refer to the lies and madness of the national socialists.
Exile in Amsterdam
103
01:43

Exile in Amsterdam

In 1937 Beckmann and his wife fled to the Netherlands, after the national socialists declared Beckmanns art to be ‘entartete Kunst’ (degenerate art). In Amsterdam he found an apartment with a studio on the Rokin. Beckmann didn’t intend to stay in the Netherlands, but the outbreak of the war prevented him from leaving. The war years were difficult; Beckmann could hardly sell his paintings, he felt isolated as a German among the Dutch and he struggled with health problems. After the liberation life didn’t become easier for Beckmann. He needed to obtain a ‘non-enemy’ certificate from the Dutch government before leaving the country. His bank account was frozen and he was not allowed to sell any of his belongings. In this period Helmuth Lütjens supported Beckmann financially. Beckmann finally was permitted to leave the Netherlands in 1947. He immigrated to the United States, where he died in 1950.
Work methods
192
03:12

Work methods

Only a few of the sketches Max Beckmann used for his paintings have survived. Beckmann didn’t consider drawings such as those of the Lütjens family as autonomous artworks. To him they were working material that he usually destroyed after a painting was finished. Whether he was making a landscape or a portrait, Beckmann often painted from memory. He didn’t get people to pose during painting, but only used a few sketches. When working on a painting, he first drew the composition onto the canvas with pencil or charcoal, after which he ’sketched’ on with diluted paint. On top of this he applied thicker layers of paint, through which the under painting sometimes shows. When Beckmann wanted to alter a certain part of the composition during his work, he usually removed all the paint on this area until he reached the ground layer. We know that the artist scraped off some parts of ‘Portrait of the Lütjens Family’ to repaint them.

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‘Portrait of the family Lütjens’ by Max Beckmann

In January 2009 Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen purchased the monumental painting ‘Portrait of the family Lütjens’ (1944) by the famous German painter Max Beckmann. The painting depicts the art dealer Helmuth Lütjens with his wife Nelly and his young daughter Annemarie. In this interview by museum director Sjarel Ex, the adult Annemarie Lütjens tells the story of the painting and Max Beckmann, who was a good friend of her father. In another ArtTube film Sjarel Ex tells about the acquisition for the museum.