The diaries of painter Max Beckmann are now available online, fully, for the first time (in German). As the home of 10 Beckmann diaries, the Rare Book & Manuscript Library was pleased to contribute to scans of the materials in our holdings to this project. Please see below for a full description of the project from the Max Beckmann Archive in the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen.

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‘If one views all this – the whole war or even one’s whole life – as just one scene on “infinity’s” stage, then things become much easier to bear’ (Max Beckmann, 12 September 1940)

As a painter, Max Beckmann is world famous. As a diarist, he is waiting to be discovered anew. Astute, humorous and pithy, he was an observer and commentator on his times and works. Unlike previous book publications, his complete writings will be available to the public for the first time in digital form, from 10 October 2025 onwards, under www.beckmann-tagebuecher.de. An image of every handwritten entry is to be seen, together with a transcription and annotations.

Under the direction of Oliver Kase, the project was developed at the Max Beckmann Archive in the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen by Nina Peter and Christiane Zeiller from 2020 onwards and funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), the Herbert Schuchardt-Stiftung, PIN. Freunde der Pinakothek der Moderne e.V. and the Freunde des Max Beckmann Archivs e.V.

Beckmann’s entries from 1903/04, 1908/09, 1912/13 and from the period between 1940 and 1950 have survived. This new edition provides insights into Beckmann’s life and work that have previously remained unseen. New facets of the artist emerge: his keen interest in world politics, his extensive networking, his business acumen and his passion for the 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 he read and the films he 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 between diary entries have also been analysed.