Max Liebermann

Max Liebermann (b. 1847 Berlin, Germany – d. 1935 Berlin, Germany)

Self-portrait, 1927 Oil on board 48 x 38 cm Signed and dated (upper right) ‘Liebermann 27’ On long term loan to the Ben Uri Collection from the Zondeck Legacy through the good offices of the Board of Belsize Synagogue 2002

This moving self-portrait was painted when the artist was in his eighties; the earthy palette testifying to the influence of the French Barbizon school. Germany’s best-known Impressionist, Max Liebermann lived in Paris from 1873–78, then Munich, returning to Berlin in 1898. He was a co-founder of the Berlin Secession, of which he was also the first President. After the Nazis came to power in 1933, Liebermann was forced to resign as President of the Prussian Academy and died two years later. His villa and studio in Wannsee were located next door to the site of the notorious 1942 Nazi Conference to organise the ‘Final Solution’.