The Dream

This vertical jumble of figures is filled with unusual, yet symbolic imagery, as in a dream. A man without hands stands on a ladder holding a fish beside a blind beggar playing two instruments. A drunken woman plays a damaged, stringless cello before a legless man on crutches. And at center, an innocent blond girl - the only figure with open eyes - holds a Pulcinello doll. The Dream reflects Max Beckmann's observations and deeply felt experience of the carnage of World War I, and symbolizes the troubled state of post-War Germany.

Credit: Bequest of Morton D. May