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Lot Essay
Stephan von Wiese will include this work in his forthcoming Beckmann catalogue raisonné of drawings.
Along with her husband, esteemed Städel Museum director and art historian Georg Swarzenski, Marie Swarzenski (1889-1967) was a close friend and patron of the artist. Swarzenski sat for Beckmann multiple times, allowing him to peer into her complicated character: while her wit could entertain the public (she wrote humorous essays for the Frankfurter Zeitung), she remained reserved in her personal relationships. In the painting Marie Swarzenski and Carola Netter (fig. 1), Swarzenski sits with Carola Netter, her husband’s mistress. Georg was forced to buy the painting for the museum to remove it from circulation, as his wife neither knew of the affair nor sat with Netter for the painting.
Along with her husband, esteemed Städel Museum director and art historian Georg Swarzenski, Marie Swarzenski (1889-1967) was a close friend and patron of the artist. Swarzenski sat for Beckmann multiple times, allowing him to peer into her complicated character: while her wit could entertain the public (she wrote humorous essays for the Frankfurter Zeitung), she remained reserved in her personal relationships. In the painting Marie Swarzenski and Carola Netter (fig. 1), Swarzenski sits with Carola Netter, her husband’s mistress. Georg was forced to buy the painting for the museum to remove it from circulation, as his wife neither knew of the affair nor sat with Netter for the painting.