Max Beckmann

Max Beckmann 1884 - 1950 Simson und Delila. 1912. Oil on canvas. 70.5 x 85.5 cm (27.7 x 33.6 in). Max Beckmann lists the painting, on which he worked in the spring and summer of 1912, as no. 123 in his catalog of works. A pencil drawing and a pen-and-ink drawing from the same year are described in the literature as preparatory studies for Delila (formerly in the Reinhard Piper Collection, Munich; see Barbara and Erhard Göpel, Max Beckmann. Catalogue of Paintings, vol. 1, Bern 1976, p. 114). In terms of composition and subject matter, the painting also draws on the lithograph of the same name published in 1911 (Gallwitz 15). [CH] More works from the Kropatscheck Collection are offered in our Evening Sale on Friday, December 4, 2026, in our “Valuable Books” auction on Monday, November 23, 2026, and in our Online Sale from January 15 through February 15, 2027. • Breakthrough: In his early work, beginning in 1905, Max Beckmann eventually developed his own distinctive visual language through an open, initially Impressionist style and academic subjects. • From Peter Paul Rubens to Frank Auerbach: The Old Testament story of Samson and Delilah has been a recurring motif in art history for centuries. • First published with an illustration as early as 1916; today accompanied by an extensive list of literature and exhibitions. • Part of the first comprehensive Beckmann retrospective in 1928 (Kunsthalle Mannheim). • From the year of its creation until his death, the work was owned by the Munich publisher Reinhard Piper, a close friend of Max Beckmann. • Beckmann’s early works, created before World War I, are represented in major museum collections, including the Städel Museum in Frankfurt am Main, the Berlinische Galerie in Berlin, the St. Louis Art Museum, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. PROVENANCE: Collection of Reinhard Piper (1879–1953), Munich (purchased directly from the artist in 1912). Private collection (inherited from the above in 1953; held until 1976, Hauswedell & Nolte, Hamburg). Galerie Pels-Leusden, Berlin. Jan A. Ahlers Collection, Herford. Douglas & Nash, Frankfurt am Main/New York (acquired in 2001). Fritz Eugen and Hannemarie Kropatscheck Collection, Hamburg (acquired from the above in 2007). EXHIBITION: Kunstsalon Paul Cassirer, Berlin, 15th year, First Exhibition, Oct. 24–Dec. 2, 1912, Cat. No. 3. Max Beckmann. Das gesammelte Werk (Paintings, Prints, and Sketches from 1905–1927), Städtische Kunsthalle, Mannheim, Feb. 19–Apr. 1, 1928 [extended through Apr. 10, 1928], cat. no. 30. Max Beckmann. Die frühen Bilder, Kunsthalle Bielefeld, September 26–November 21, 1982; Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main, January 28–April 17, 1983, cat. no. 63 (with black-and-white illustration, p. 112). Der deutsche Impressionismus, Kunsthalle Bielefeld, Nov. 22, 2009–Feb. 28, 2010, pp. 174ff. (with color illustration, p. 175). Max Beckmann: weiblich – männlich, Hamburger Kunsthalle, September 25, 2020–January 24, 2021 [extended through March 14, 2021], pp. 166ff. and p. 266, cat. no. 8 (with color illustration, p. 167). Kunsthalle Hamburg (permanent loan from the Kropatscheck Collection, 2020–2026). LITERATURE: Anja Tiedemann, Kaldewei Cultural Foundation (ed.), Max Beckmann: Catalogue Raisonné of Paintings, Frankfurt am Main, Online CR no. 155. Barbara and Erhard Göpel, Max Beckmann. Catalog of Paintings, vol. 1, Bern 1976, CR no. 155 (with illustration, plate 60). Benno Reifenberg and Wilhelm Hausenstein, Max Beckmann, Munich 1949, No. 136. Curt Glaser, Julius Meier-Graefe, Wilhelm Fraenger, and Wilhelm Hausenstein, Max Beckmann, Munich 1924, List of Paintings, p. 76, line 13. Hans Kaiser, Max Beckmann, Berlin 1913, List of Paintings, No. 125. - - Reinhard Piper, Das Liebespaar in der Kunst, Munich 1916, p. 162 (with ill., p. 160). Reinhard Piper, Nachmittag. Erinnerungen eines Verlegers, Munich 1950, pp. 13–14 (with ill.). Friedhelm W. Fischer, Der Maler Max Beckmann, Cologne 1972, p. 23 and throughout. Hauswedell & Nolte, Hamburg, 214th Auction, Modern Art, June 2–4, 1976, lot 88 (with color illustration, p. 35). Ernst-Gerhard Güse, Das Frühwerk Max Beckmanns. Zur Thematik seiner Bilder aus den Jahren 1904–1914 (Ph.D. thesis) Bern/Frankfurt am Main 1977. Karl & Faber, Munich, Art. Paintings, Watercolors, Drawings, and Prints by Old and New Masters, November 25, 1983, lot 699 (with color illustration, plate 17, titled “Samson and Delilah”). Fritz Erpel, Max Beckmann: Leben im Werk – Die Selbstbildnisse, Munich 1985. Max Beckmann Archive and Bavarian State Painting Collections, Max Beckmann: Briefe an Reinhard Piper, Munich 1994, pp. 10ff. (with b&w illustration, p. 11). Bernhard Echte and Walter Feilchenfeldt (eds.), “Eine neue Klassik”: Kunstsalon Paul Cassirer. Die Ausstellungen 1912–1914, Wädenswil 2016. Called up: December 5, 2026 - ca. 14.21 h +/- 20 min.

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