The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 23, 2024

Happy New Year 1917

Happy New Year 1917

1917
(German, 1884–1950)
Sheet: 29.8 x 37 cm (11 3/4 x 14 9/16 in.); Plate: 24.2 x 29.8 cm (9 1/2 x 11 3/4 in.)
Catalogue raisonné: Hofmaier 108
Location: not on view

Description

This closely packed image portrays a mix of people at a holiday party. A skeleton-like war veteran with a patched eye is just one of several inebriated patrons whose celebration of a new year, Beckmann implies, is pure folly. The artist often worked in drypoint, a method of directly scratching a plate to create an image that, when inked, retains a velvety burr around the lines. The technique allowed him to work spontaneously, similar to sketching with a pen on paper.
  • Graphic Discontent: German Expressionism on Paper. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (January 14-May 27, 2018).
    Urban Vicissitudes. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 2-September 29, 1985).
    Graphic Humor. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 1-August 29, 1982).
    German Expressionist Graphics. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (May 7-October 5, 1980).
    Gifts of the Print Club of Cleveland, 1969 - 1979. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 4, 1979-January 27, 1980).
  • {{cite web|title=Happy New Year 1917|url=false|author=Max Beckmann|year=1917|access-date=23 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1975.53