Did Max Beckmann's experiences of war contribute to his success as a painter?

... INTRODUCTION I had heard of Max Beckmann's reputation as one of the most formidable post-war artists of the 20th century. In August 2003 I travelled to New York to see an extremely rare exhibition of a large number of his works, the most notable of which were seven of the nine triptychs that he completed during his lifetime. Although I was already interested in Beckmann I was not prepared for the profound effect his paintings had on me. I had never realised that is was possible to accurately and successfully portray on canvas the extreme torment and pain that an individual may experience, yet it seemed to me that, in some of his works, Beckmann expressed this to perfection. At the outbreak of World War I Beckman enlisted and was trained as a medical orderly. Shortly thereafter he was sent to the East Prussian front where his experience of death and

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