Max Liebermann, “Self Portrait in a Suit Next to an Easel”

Max Liebermann, “Self Portrait in a Suit Next to an Easel”

Close friend of the Lewin family, Max Liebermann, created several portraits of its members. The earliest of them is the portrait of Carl Lewin from 1917, intended for Leo, the eldest son of Carl. Five years later, two other versions of the portrait were created for two of the five younger siblings of the collector. The remaining three were to receive portrait busts sculpted by Georg Kolbe, one of which can be admired today in the artist’s museum in Berlin. In 1918, Liebermann also portrayed Leo’s sister – Cäcilia (née Markus) – on the occasion of her thirtieth birthday. In 1923, the artist painted a portrait of the collector’s wife, Helena. In addition to the portraits, Lewin also directly purchased other paintings from the artist, including a view of the garden at the painter’s house in Wannsee and a self-portrait at the easel, both created in 1922.

The composition “Self-Portrait in a Suit Next to the Easel” depicts the painter at the age of 75 at the end of his career. He was already a recognized artist by then. Five years earlier, the Prussian Academy of Arts honored him with a sizable monographic exhibition. In 1920, he became the president of this prestigious art institution. Moreover, he was undoubtedly one of the most important painters of his generation in the Weimar Republic. However, even this did not protect him from falling out of favor after the Nazis came to power in 1933. He died in seclusion in 1935.

At the time of the artist’s death, the self-portrait was no longer in Breslau. Before 1926, it came into the possession of Max Glaeser from Eselsfürthu (until 1926). In 1987, the canvas was auctioned at Christie’s in London. A year later, it was offered at the Munich Gemälde-Cabinett, and in 1996, at Kunstsalon Franke in Munich. In 2007, the self-portrait was exhibited at the London headquarters of Sotheby’s.

Painting Information:

oil on canvas, dimensions: 90 x 75.3 cm, storage location unknown.

Literature: Matthias Eberle, Max Liebermann, Werkverzeichnis der Gemälde und Ölstudien 1900-1935, München 1996, t. II, nr 1922/9.