''Departure'' is an oil-on-canvas

triptych A triptych ( ) is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all m ...

by German artist

Max Beckmann Max Carl Friedrich Beckmann (February 12, 1884 – December 27, 1950) was a German painter, drawing, draftsman, printmaker, sculpture, sculptor, and writer. Although he is classified as an Expressionist artist, he rejected both the term and the m ...

begun in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

in 1932 and completed in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

from 1933 to 1935. It was the first of nine triptychs that the artist created. The panels, according to Beckmann, are named ''The Castle'' (left), ''The Homecoming'' (middle) and ''The Staircase'' (right). The paintings have all the same height (215.5 cm) and the middle panel, with 115 cm, is only slightly wider than the other two, which have 99.5 cm in length. It is one of his best-known triptychs and is held at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

, in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

History and description

The triptych was started at the final years of the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

and finished in the first years after the takeover of

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

. The significance of the scenes depicted is enigmatic. Both the side panels show images of sadistic violence. At the left, possibly a torture chamber, a woman is tied down upon a crystal ball. To her left, a strange still life is seen, and behind her is a man in a striped shirt, possibly an executioner, holding an axe. A gagged man whose hands have been severed is tied by his arms to one of the three pillars at the background, his closed eyes showing an expression of deep pain. At his right, a woman is seen from behind, with her hands tied. In the right panel, a woman is tied to an upside-down man. Next to the woman is a blindfolded man in a bellhop uniform, and behind her is a naked dwarf. In the foreground is a drummer. Unlike the figures in the left panel, the figures in the right panel are constrained but not tortured. The central panel, by the opposite, showing a scene in a blue sky and in a blue sea, seems to represent a chance of hope and salvation from this violence, depicting the departure of a king, most likely the

Fisher King The Fisher King (; ; ; ) is a figure in Arthurian legend, the last in a long line of British kings tasked with guarding the Holy Grail. The Fisher King is both the protector and physical embodiment of his lands, but a wound renders him impoten ...

, with his back turned, who grasps a net of fish, while giving a blessing. At his left, an enigmatic hooded man holds a fish. The queen, at the background, holds his son, while faces the viewer. Beckmann described this scene stating: "The King and Queen have freed themselves... The Queen carries the greatest treasure – Freedom – as her child in her lap. Freedom is the one thing that matters – it is the departure, the new start." Despite the political background of the time, Beckmann denied that this was a political work: “''Departure'' bears no tendentious meaning – it could well be applied to all times."Max Beckmann, Departure, Artchive
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Departure 1935 paintings Paintings by Max Beckmann Triptychs Torture in art Paintings in the Museum of Modern Art (New York City)