Female Dancer, 1935 (casting 1958)

About the Work

Beckmann only ever made eight sculptures and, in their production, was influenced by topics that preoccupied him his entire life, such as dance and vaudeville. Beckmann’s “Dancer” poises in a deep split and bends her upper body far forward, with her head nearly touching a shin. Beckmann does not show the young woman on stage. Rather, he caught a moment in which the dancer seems to stretch. All the virtuosity and lightness that is usually associated with dance has left the figure. With her narrow, crouched pose and rather ungainly limbs, Beckmann created a decidedly unusual sculpture. It illustrates his idea of the existential threats to human existence, which he experienced as being determined by hardship and struggles against dark forces.