Dutch Cycle Path Max Beckmann

• Paintings from the period of his migration to the Netherlands, which proved to be a fruitful time for Beckmann despite the repression • Beckmann repainted the work to make the cycle path the central theme of the picture • Despite the uncertain circumstances, he creates a painting full of optimism, featuring luminous shades of green and expressive brushwork Max and Mathilde Beckmann are cycling across a field. Ahead of them is a third cyclist; beside them, a boat bobs along the canal. The fields are bordered by the water and the woodland in the background; we observe the scene from a height. Max Beckmann’s ‘Dutch Cycle Path’, however, is more than just a depiction of a Sunday ride in the countryside, as a look at the painting’s genesis and the artist’s biography reveals: the painting was created following a cycling trip the artist undertook with his wife on 4 May 1940. On 3 October, he noted in his diary: ‘Hilversum forest landscape finished.’ (See also the entry in the 1940 list of paintings.) On 7 July 1942, the couple set off once more on a cycle ride in Hilversum, following which the painting was revised (see also the entry in the 1942 list of paintings). It was probably initially conceived more clearly as a ‘forest landscape’, but the motif was subsequently pushed into the background in favour of the cycle path. Beckmann is thus directly processing his lived experience here – excursions with his wife are translated into the picture. However, the fact that the Beckmanns were in the Netherlands in 1940 was not due to a longing for long cycle rides along the kingdom’s dykes. Max and Mathilde Beckmann had fled Germany. Beckmann’s works were confiscated, and his art denounced as ‘degenerate’. Yet even in the Netherlands the political climate was growing harsher; here too, the henchmen of Nazi Germany were soon at work. Beckmann was able to earn a living through a network of friends who supported the couple and supplied paintings to collectors – including those in Germany. From 1955, the work belonged to the renowned Beckmann collection of Morten D. May in St Louis, USA. From 1983, it was owned by Margie Wolcott May, also in St Louis. | 1884 Leipzig - New York 1950 | Moderne Kunst | Gemälde | Nummer: 26x2495 | Provenance: Karl Buchholz, Berlin, frühestens November 1942 (vermutlich Kauf); Karl-Heinz Brandt, wohl Herbst 1944 bis Januar 1945 (kriegsbedingte Verwahrung); Rosgartenmuseum, Konstanz, 1945 (Verwahrung); Marie Louise Buchholz, Überlingen, 1945 bis April 1948 (Verwahrung); Karl Buchholz, Madrid, April 1948–1949, von Vorgenannter übernommen; Buchholz Gallery Curt Valentin, New York, verso auf dem Keilrahmen mit dem Etikett, wohl 1949–1955, von Vorgenanntem erworben; Morton D. May, St. Louis, 1955–1983, von Vorgenanntem erworben; Sammlung Margie Wolcott May, St. Louis, 1983–1986, von Vorgenanntem geerbt; Christie’s, London 23.6.1986, Los 53; Privatsammlung Blohm, Hamburg, bei Vorgenannter erworben; Privatsammlung, Deutschland, seit 2022.

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