MUNICH.- The painting “Château d‘If“ by Max Beckmann is not only a remarkably highclass work of art but also a very profound document. It will be called up with an estimate of € 800,000 - 1,200,000 in the grand summer auction of Modern Art, Post War and Contemporary Art at Ketterer Kunst from 8 - 10 June.

Between the late 1920s and 1939 Max Beckmann regularly spent several months in France. His works were shown in acclaimed museums and were sold by renowned galleries. Beckmann‘s future seemed bright, but yet, a turning point began to show: He lost his post as professor and his works in public collections were on display less often. The artist experienced increasing defamation with the Nazis‘ gain in power.

The contemplative view of the “Château d'If“, a fortress on the Île d‘If near the coast of Marseille, reveals nothing about this development at first sight. The subtext of this work, which is about injustice and a longing for revenge, only shows with the knowledge that this painting depicts one of the key settings of the novel “The Count of Monte Cristo“ by Alexandre Dumas. Beckmann, who presumably drew this painting in Berlin from his memories, allows very personal insight into his inner life, which was characterized by uncertainty and an anxiety about the future in those days.

“I am particularly delighted about the opportunity to offer this wonderful artwork in our auction after it was sold to an American private collection through the gallery of my uncle Roman Norbert Ketterer some 50 years ago“, says company owner Robert Ketterer. He continues: “Apart from Beckmann‘s mastery in terms of technique and choice of motif, the work is particularly remarkable for its excellent provenance, as it also used to be in possession of Beckmann‘s friend and patron Stephan Lackner.“

Besides a German private collection, Otto Mueller‘s work “Vier Badende“, estimated at € 300,000 – 400,000, and Hermann Max Pechstein‘s portray of the daughter of a South Sea chief “Ronmay“ (estimate: € 200,000 – 300,000) in the section of Modern Art, as well as three works by Gerhard Richter (with estimates of up to € 700,000) and two works by Georg Baselitz (estimates: up to € 600,000) in the section of Post War Art, other significant works in the June auctions come from, among others, Josef Albers, Stephan Balkenhol, Willi Baumeister, Chuck Close, Heinrich Maria Davringhausen, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Gabriele Münter, Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Emil Nolde, Otto Piene, Serge Poliakoff and Günther Uecker.