Self-Portrait Yellow-Pink (Beckmann)

Together with his wife Mathilde, Max Beckmann went into exile to the Netherlands in 1937 after his works were identified as Degenerate Art by the Nazi government.[3] The two pretended to be vacationing but really were trying to leave for the United States, which they would accomplish only after World War II, in 1947.[4]

In 1943 Beckmann painted the Self Portrait Yellow-Pink in Amsterdam, while awaiting a visa to the United States.[5][4] He painted the portrait for his wife Mathilde “Quappi“ von Kaulbach, who assisted him throughout their marriage by keeping track of his catalogue raisonnee.[4]

Beckmann depicted himself standing with crossed arms in front of a mirror in a red frame.[6] The dress he wears is held in yellow and seemingly has fur on it.[6] In contrast to his earlier self-portraits which were painted in dark colors, this one was painted in bright colors.[6]

That the portrait was on the market was quite a surprise, and in Germany there was no comparable work of Beckmann on sale since the end of World War II.[6] At the auction its potential price was estimated between 20 and 30 million.[6] The auction house Villa Grisebach in Berlin sold it in December 2022 for 20 million Euro.[5] It was the highest price for any painting sold in Germany and the second highest for a painting by Max Beckmann.[7] It was purchased by Reinhold Würth, a construction entrepreneur of the Würth company.[5] It was welcomed as a good addition to the other Beckmanns in the Würth collection.[7] The portrait was said to be exhibited in the company's art collection and made accessible to the public for free.[5]