Still Life with Fallen Candles

1929

Max Beckmann German, 1884-1950

On View

Modern, Level 2, North Wing

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About the Artwork

In this precarious arrangement of objects, Max Beckmann invoked the symbolism of vanitas still lifes to convey the idea of the shortness and fragility of life. A pair of toppled but extinguished candles, pears and grapes, and two lighted candles are closely grouped on a white tablecloth. The table is bordered by a wall covered with snow-blossom-patterned yellow wallpaper and set against an impenetrable dark expanse, its legs both highlighting the compression of the space and providing a depth to it. Beckmann made this painting in 1929, when Germany’s Weimar Republic, established after World War I, became increasingly weak and politically volatile, upending lives and careers. This was the first painting by Beckmann to be acquired by a public museum in the United States. The Detroit Institute of Arts bought it through dealer Alfred Flechtheim in Berlin in 1929, shortly after it was painted.

Title Still Life with Fallen Candles

Artwork Date 1929

Artist Max Beckmann

Life Dates 1884-1950

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. German

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Unknown

Medium Oil on canvas

Dimensions Unframed: 22 × 24 3/4 inches (55.9 × 62.9 cm) Framed: 28 7/8 × 31 1/8 × 3 inches (73.3 × 79.1 × 7.6 cm)

Classification Paintings

Department European Modern Art to 1970

Credit City of Detroit Purchase

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 29.322

Markings

Signed Signed and dated, upper left: Beckmann | F 29

Provenance

1929-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

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Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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