Bavaria

This fresh and spontaneous watercolor depicts the gardens of the Bavarian estate of the artist’s in-laws. Between 1930 and 1935, Max Beckmann and his wife, Mathilde “Quappi” von Kaulbach, often traveled to this house in the shadow of the Alps to escape the mounting political pressures in their hometown of Frankfurt. After Hitler became chancellor of Germany in 1933, Beckmann’s work was censored and labeled “degenerate.” He lost his teaching position at the Städel Art School in Frankfurt, and many of his exhibitions were canceled. The garden of the Kaulbach home became a retreat where Beckmann could sketch and paint in his signature style: bold, black lines and spontaneous brushstrokes.