Self-Portrait in Tuxedo

“The effect is brutal,” wrote one critic when this self-portrait by Beckmann debuted in Berlin in 1928, “but the work is surely in the spirit of the most recent art.” Since then, this now iconic painting has been understood as synonymous with the art and political uncertainty of the 1920s. It is also the work most closely associated with the Busch-Reisinger Museum, which acquiredthe portrait as its first modern painting in 1941.Half cast into deep shadow by an unseen light source, Beckmann’s face at close range resembles a mask, an effect underscored by the thick application of paint. The artist easily dons the elegant attire and “mask” of the bourgeoisie, but the question remains whether his likeness is a critique of the elite conservative circles he was known to frequent. Beckmann repeatedly refused to take an outright political stance on the artist’s role in society. “Afraid of nothing,” wrote one contemporary, “he refrains from taking up anyone position.”