To mark the publication of the complete digital edition of Max Beckmann’s diaries, actor and author Hanns Zischler will read selected passages at the Pinakothek der Moderne (Ernst von Siemens Auditorium) on 10 October 2025.
Image above: Max Beckmann beneath his ‘Still Life with Orchids and Pears’ , 1949. © Bavarian State Painting Collections, Max Beckmann Archive, Max Beckmann Estates. Photo: J. Raymond.
Max Beckmann is world-renowned as a painter. As a diarist, he is waiting to be rediscovered. He observed and commented on his time and his work with sharp wit, humour and conciseness. In contrast to previous book editions, his writings will be available to the public in full for the first time in the complete digital edition from 10 October 2025 at www.beckmann-tagebuecher.de every handwritten entry will be reproduced, transcribed and annotated.
‘If you view all of this – the entire war or even your whole life – as just one scene in the theatre of “infinity”, many things become easier to bear –’
Max Beckmann on 12 September 1940
Beckmann’s notes from 1903/04, 1908/09, 1912/13 and from the period between 1940 and 1950 have been preserved. The new edition offers previously unseen insights into Beckmann’s work and life. New facets of the artist emerge: his keen interest in world politics, his extensive network, his business acumen and his passion for cinema and literature. Many of the people mentioned in the diaries have been identified, including well-known contemporaries such as Heinrich George and Jacques Lipchitz. Most of the books and films he read and watched have also been traced. Notes on picture sales and prices also provide insights into the painter’s financial circumstances, the art trade and the provenance of his works. Numerous drawings inserted into the diary entries have also been deciphered.
The project has been developed at the Max Beckmann Archive of the Bavarian State Painting Collections since 2020 under the direction of Oliver Kase by Nina Peter and Christiane Zeiller and is funded by the German Research Foundation, the Herbert Schuchardt Foundation, PIN. Friends of the Pinakothek der Moderne e.V. and the Friends of the Max Beckmann Archive e.V.
WHEN?
Friday, 10 October 2025, 7–8.30 p.m.
Doors open at 6.30 p.m.
WHERE?
Ernst von Siemens Auditorium, Pinakothek der Moderne
Barer Straße 40
80333 München
COSTS?
Participation and admission free of charge
No registration required
