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max beckmann 1884-1950
Perseus' (Herkules') Letzte Aufgabe
(Perseus' (Hercules') Last Duty)
Signed and dated NY 49
Oil on canvas
35 1/4 by 56 in. 89.5 by 142.2 cm.
Provenance: Estate of the artist; Catherine Viviano Gallery, New York (acquired from the above); Acquired from the above on January 9, 1962
Exhibited: New York, Catherine Viviano Gallery, Max Beckmann. Exhibition of Paintings, 1925-1950, 1962, no. 19; New York, Catherine Viviano Gallery, Max Beckmann in America, Exhibition of Paintings, 1947-1950, 1969, no. 16
Literature: Dore Ashton, "New York Commentary," The Studio, London, April 1962, illustrated p. 154; Erhard and Barbara Gopel, Max Beckmann, Katalog der Gemalde, Bern, 1976, vol. I, no. 798, catalogued p. 484; vol. II, illustrated p. 298; Stephan Lackner, Max Beckmann, New York, 1977, illustrated p. 42, fig. 52
Depictions of the mythological Greek heroes Perseus and Hercules have long been subjects explored in Western art (see fig. 1). Rarely, though, have these subjects been combined and interpreted as freely and as expressively as in Max Beckmann's powerful canvas of 1949, Perseus's (Hercules') Last Duty. Inspired by the monumentality of these demi-gods, Max Beckmann imaginatively brought together the two mythical characters within one vivid depiction of their acclaimed feats of bravery. According to his journal, Beckmann referred to the painting interchangeably as "Perseus letzte Aufgabe" and "Herkules letzte Aufgabe," during the two years of its planning and execution.
Beckmann titled the preliminary sketch for this oil as The Last Duty of Perseus (see next lot), perhaps indicating the predominance of Perseus over Hercules. Perseus was the son of Zeus and Danae, the object of King Polydectes' of Seriphos amorous attention. Because he was extremely jealous of Danae's son, Polydectes sent him on the treacherous mission of retrieving the head of Medusa, the deadly Gorgon monster who had the power of turning men into stone if they gazed directly into her eyes. Foiling the king's plan, the young Perseus received the divine assistance of Hades and Athena and successfully accomplished this task. Hades, the messenger of the gods, entrusted Perseus with a magical helmet that would make him invisible and an adamanite sickle to slay the wretched monster. In order to avoid looking directly at his deadly target and subsequently be turned into stone, the goddess Athena gave Perseus a highly polished shield in which he could safely see Medusa's reflection. Upon accomplishing his duty, Perseus placed Medusa's head in a magical wallet and eventually returned to Seriphos where he uncloaked the fatal talisman and turned the evil King Polydectes into stone.
In this picture, Beckmann has painted the male figure, depicting Perseus, in the act of beheading the Gorgon Medusa. Wearing Hades' helmet, the magical wallet and brandishing the fatal sword, Perseus looks into the polished shield on the right, which bears the reflection of the Gorgons. Interestingly, Beckmann depicts Medusa and her Gorgon guardians not as vile, snake-haired monsters but as young women, vulnerable to the weapon which Perseus lords over them. As if to critique the violence of the scene, the artist's choice of color and positioning of the figures reassigns the heroic qualities associated with each mythical character. Perseus, with his back turned to the viewer, stands as a dark and looming figure in a pool of blood, the color of which is echoed by the tuft of shocking crimson hair on the back of his head. Beckmann has instead placed Medusa in the center of the composition, her body swelling with fecundity and illuminated like that of a martyr. The intense drama of this picture is further emphasized by the projection of the sword's tip to the extreme left and beyond the picture plane. Here, the artist suggests the sword's penetration into the viewer's space as Perseus anticipates swinging the weapon above his head. By adeptly engaging our sense of proximity to the painting, Beckmann convincingly communicates the danger and anxiety of the subject at hand. Yet, despite the apparent brutality of the subject matter, Beckmann would often confide to his friend Stephan Lackner, "Really, I only wanted to paint beautiful pictures." (Stephan Lackner, Max Beckmann, New York, 1977, p. 166).
The character of Perseus and the myth associated with him had previously captivated Beckmann. In 1940, the artist produced a triptych, which now hangs in the Museum Folkwang in Essen (see fig. 2), in which he provided a more pronounced commentary on Perseus's accomplishments. As Carla Schulz- Hoffmann has discussed in the 1984-85 retrospective catalogue, "The triptych Perseus... is not merely portrayed as a fact of reality but is also subjected to value judgement. The mythological theme - the liberation of the oceans from the serpent monster and the rescue of Andromeda by Perseus - has been reinterpreted by Beckmann in an extremely idiosyncratic way. There is no doubt that the hero now becomes a negative figure. His brutal exterior, unpleasant face, unkempt beard, and red mane of hair...define him as more of an aggressor than a rescuer.... Beckmann leaves no doubt that this cannot be the solution to a basic human problem." (op. cit., p. 42).
In the present work, Beckmann's commentary on valor is further underscored by his portrayal of Hercules, which he primarily signifies with the presence of Cerberus, the gray beast depicted on the right of the canvas. Hercules was summoned by King Eurystheus of Mycenae to complete twelve labors. The final labor, which would more clearly explain the title The Last Duty of Hercules, was to travel to the Underworld and seize Cerberus, the Hound of Hell who guarded the gates of Hades. Here, Beckmann has depicted Cerberus with his traditional characteristics of a wild dog with a serpentine tail, not unlike classical depictions of the mythical beast (see fig. 3).
Beckmann's thematic division of the canvas - part Hercules, part Perseus - mirrors the artist's formal tendencies of compartmentalizing the composition as a means of expression. Commonly accomplished through the use of triptychs, like his similarly mythically-inspired Argonauts completed the year of his death, Beckmann divides his picture into different panels in order to independently address variations on a common theme. In the present work, Beckmann has divided the composition into sections by means of the bold vertical lines in the background of the painting. Although formally serving as the architectural background of the scene, the juxtaposition of these disparate structural elements calls attention to the variation of activity occurring in the painting and heightens the narrative effect.
To the right of the composition and partially obscured by Cerberus is a reclining figure, seemingly a self-portrait of the artist who has evidently been turned to stone. Best known for the many self-portraits that he executed over the course of his career (see fig. 4), Beckmann has not overlooked the opportunity to present himself in this work, one of the last monumental paintings that he would complete before his sudden death from a heart attack in 1950. Of his many self-portraits, James D. Burke has noted: "Like Dante, Max Beckmann has portrayed an epic journey of discovery in which our guide is the artist himself, viewed through his self-portraits. Concerned with man's fate, Beckmann struggled with his grand and noble themes in a century racked with discord and disaster. His artistic works aspired to the heroic...he conceived of himself as a hero of Homeric proportions." (ibid., p. 53).