Begin the Beguine

Description: Max Beckmann created this painting while in the Netherlands, waiting to hear if his application to move to the United States would be accepted. The title refers to a Cole Porter song (from the 1935 musical "Jubilee") that had become a popular hit and a big band standard after being recorded by jazz clarinetist Artie Shaw in July 1938. The invocation of Shaw’s popular dance music and the sophistication of Porter’s musical theater is a jarring counterpoint to the disturbing visual elements of distorted spaces, mutilated limbs, and acidic colors. This tension captures Beckmann’s ambivalence about American culture, as well as his attraction to music and the cabaret environment. --University of Michigan Museum of Art
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