The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 27, 2024

Perseus's Last Duty

Perseus's Last Duty

1949
(German, 1884–1950)
Framed: 125 x 178.5 x 8.5 cm (49 3/16 x 70 1/4 x 3 3/8 in.); Unframed: 89.4 x 142 cm (35 3/16 x 55 7/8 in.)

Did You Know?

The reclining figure encircled by the griffin's tail at the far right may be the artist's self-portrait.

Description

This painting depicts Perseus, a celebrated warrior from Greek mythology whose name derives from the Greek word "to waste, ravage, sack, destroy." Perseus’s most famous feat was cutting off Medusa’s head. Yet, the mass slaughter depicted here is not found in the ancient myth, but instead suggests a nightmarish allegory filled with private, enigmatic symbols, perhaps reflecting Beckmann’s experience of barely surviving two world wars. Traumatized while serving as a medical orderly during WWI, Beckmann later became the target of Nazi persecution. In 1947 he immigrated to the United States. Created in the aftermath of the Holocaust and under the Cold War threat of nuclear annihilation, this painting suggests a bitter critique of mankind’s propensity for destruction. Presenting Perseus in female dress subverts the hypermasculine glamorization of military heroes common to national historical myths.
  • Estate of the Artist, sold to Catherine Viviano Gallery
    1962
    (Catherine Viviano Gallery, New York, NY, 1962, sold to Stanley J. Seeger)
    1962-2001
    Stanley J. Seeger [1930-2011], New York, NY and London, United Kingdom, consigned to Sotheby's NY for sale
    2001
    (Sotheby's, New York, NY, May 8, 2001, sold to Private Collection)
    2013
    (French & Co., New York, NY, 2013, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art )
    2013-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Max Beckmann: Exhibition of Paintings, 1925-1950 : January 9-27, 1962. New York, NY: Catherine Viviano Gallery, 1962. Reproduced: no. 19
    Göpel, Erhard, and Barbara Göpel. Max Beckmann: Katalog der Gemälde. Bern, Switzerland: Kornfeld & Cie, 1976. Reproduced: p. 298, vol II
    Schütt, Jutta, David Anfam, and Karoline Feulner. Beckmann & America. Ostfildern, Germany: Hatje Cantz, 2011. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 230-232
    Griswold, William M. “Recent Acquisitions (2013-20) at the Cleveland Museum of Art.” Burlington Magazine 163, no. 1414 (January 2021): 93-104. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 99, no. 11; mentioned: P. 93
    Beckmann, Max, Anja Tiedemann, Erhard Göpel, Barbara Göpel, and Erhard Göpel. Max Beckmann: die Gemälde, Ahlen : Franz Dieter und Michaela Kaldewei Kulturstiftung, 2021, 477 Reproduced and mentioned: p. 477
  • {{cite web|title=Perseus's Last Duty|url=false|author=Max Beckmann|year=1949|access-date=27 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2013.7