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This closely packed image portrays a mix of people at a holiday party. A skeleton-like war veteran with a patched eye is just one of several inebriated patrons whose celebration of a new year, Beckmann implies, is pure folly. The artist often worked in drypoint, a method of directly scratching a plate to create an image that, when inked, retains a velvety burr around the lines. The technique allowed him to work spontaneously, similar to sketching with a pen on paper.

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Details

  • Title: Happy New Year 1917
  • Creator: Max Beckmann (German, 1884-1950)
  • Date Created: 1917
  • Physical Dimensions: Sheet: 29.8 x 37 cm (11 3/4 x 14 9/16 in.); Plate: 24.2 x 29.8 cm (9 1/2 x 11 3/4 in.)
  • Type: Print
  • Rights: CC0
  • External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1975.53
  • Medium: drypoint
  • State of work: V/V
  • Series: The Faces (Die Gesichter)
  • Department: Prints
  • Culture: Germany, 20th century
  • Credit Line: Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland
  • Collection: PR - Drypoint
  • Accession Number: 1975.53

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