This is a list of the artworks from our collection currently on display at each Gallery.
Works are moved from view for many different reasons. Although this page is updated regularly, we cannot guarantee that the pieces listed here will be on display when you visit.![Apollo [Dream in a Cave]](http://www.nationalgalleries.org/media_collection/5/GML 1023.jpg)
Max Beckmann
Apollo [Dream in a Cave]1942On Display | GALLERY OF MODERN ART
This picture was painted two years after Beckmann settled to Amsterdam after fleeing Nazi Germany in 1937. The painting was inspired by a visit to the caves at Valkenburg, a popular Dutch holiday resort. The central figure carrying a torch is Apollo, riding a winged leopard. The scene is set behind a heavy chain. This refers to the attempts by the Nazis to put a stop to joyous feasting (represented by the champagne bottle) and to culture. Apollo is the Greek god of poetry, prophecy and healing powers.
- Accession no. GML 1023
- Medium Oil on canvas
- Size 70.00 x 90.00 cm
- Credit Long loan in 2001
Max Beckmann (German, 1884 - 1950)
Beckmann was born in Leipzig. He studied in Weimar and Paris before settling in Berlin. At the outbreak of war he volunteered for the medical corps, but in 1915 suffered a nervous breakdown and was later discharged. After seeing the devastating effects of the war on the people of Germany and on the country itself, he began to question the values of the world. At about this time he moved away from Impressionism and adopted a more angular, expressionist style. Much of his work takes as its starting point political and social changes in Germany but ultimately his chief concerns were with spiritual values.