About the Origin of Max Beckmann’s »Before the Masked Ball«

On occasion of the 5th International Provenance Research Day on 12 April 2023, Dr. Ute Haug and Dr. Nadine Bauer will provide an insight into their current research project: a joint project of the Stiftung Hamburger Kunstsammlungen and the Hamburger Kunsthalle which is also supported by the German Lost Art Foundation in Magdeburg.

The two provenance researchers are investigating the history of the artist’s proof of Max Beckmann’s drypoint etching »Before the Masked Ball«, which became the property of the Stiftung Hamburger Kunstsammlungen in 1998. Their research has already provided some new information on the work. Some questions, however, still remain.

The Artwork as the First Source of Information – Inscriptions

The inscription “Glaser 235”, to be found in the lower right corner of the sheet, refers to a monograph by Curt Glaser published in 1924 by R. Piper & Co. in Munich. This book contains an index of Beckmann’s printed works, and the print in question is listed there under no. 235. Since the Piper estate is now in the Marbach Literary Archives, the two researchers made an inquiry there. However, the reference found in the Marbach database did not refer to the print held by the Hamburger Kunsthalle, but to Beckmann’s painting of the same name with the catalogue raisonné number 216. The previous owner of this painting was Reinhard Piper. This trace therefore apparently has led to no results.

Inventories, Archives, Literature and Exhibition Catalogues – Search for Notations

Another important source for provenance research is the inventory book of the Kupferstichkabinett (Department of Prints and Drawings), where the entry for this sheet contains a reference to the “Günther Franke Collection”. This suggests that the proof belonged to the private collection of the art dealer Günther Franke (1900-1976) from Munich, who had also represented Max Beckmann. In 2017 a comprehensive publication on the art dealer Franke was published by art historian Felix Billeter, including a list of works from Franke’s private collection. There it can be learned that Franke had loaned his copy of the etching to Freiburg for an exhibition in 1952. Unfortunately, the Kunstverein Freiburg no longer has any documents from this period that could provide information about the loan.

Indications from the Kunstmuseum Basel suggest that Franke may have loaned the etching for a Beckmann presentation in Basel as early as 1930. Similarly, the exhibition catalogue from the Kunsthaus Zurich – also from 1930 – lists an etching entitled “Before the Masked Ball”. Since Franke was Beckmann’s art dealer, a direct transfer of the work from the artist to his dealer’s collection seems conceivable. However, this could not be confirmed as yet. If this trace does not lead further, the provenance researchers will pursue the stories of the four prints of “Before the Masked Ball” that are listed in the confiscation inventory of “Degenerate Art”. In 1937, these were confiscated from museums in Berlin, Chemnitz, Dresden and Munich.

Searching for the Right Print

“Before the Masked Ball” is a print, or more precisely an artist’s proof. Usually several prints exist of graphic works, and catalogues raisonnés provide information about these. In James Hofmaier’s catalogue raisonné, published in 1990, our proof print was given the number 264 A. Unfortunately, no further information about the number of proofs is given there, but it is stated that the prints  were also published by Piper Verlag. Other prints are mentioned in the Städel Museum in Frankfurt (also inscripted with the number 235) and in various private collections as well as at the “Estate of Günther Franke”. Assuming that Hofmaier’s information was up to date in 1990, the print in question is probably our etching, which then still belonged to the Franke estate in 1990.

Search for Further Previous Owners

In 1998, the etching was acquired by the Stiftung Hamburger Kunstsammlungen at an auction of the Hamburg auction house Hauswedell & Nolte. Since the auction house’s files are now in the Central Archive for German and International Art Market Research (ZADIK), the provenance researchers contacted the latter. The ZADIK informed us that a certain Joel Shapiro, from Amsterdam, had consigned the sheet for auction at Hauswedell & Nolte in 1998. We were allowed to be given the name as the person was already deceased. So far, however, no further details have been found on Joel Shapiro.

It remains to be established at what point in time this proof of the etching “Before the Masked Ball” entered the private collection of the art dealer Günther Franke and when it left Franke’s collection again. Possession and ownership between 1933 and 1945 have thus also not yet been clarified. It is possible that the pending review of Franke’s partial estate in the Bavarian State Library in Munich will provide further indications.