Self Portrait with a Cigarette.

[NNadir]

4. It's never a bother, Peg. This weekend, I'm going to MOMA with my family to see the Magritte...

...exhibition, and I will surely visit this painting, as well as Beckmann's "Departure" triptych on the fifth floor.

I'll probably linger there a long time at "Departure," as I used to do when I was young and would go see Picasso's "Guernica" when it was at MOMA. (I understand why its gone, but I miss that painting enormously).

"Departure" is a worthy substitute.

I've been studying Beckmann for several years now, and he amazes me every time I see his work, but to see "Departure" "in the flesh" is incredible.

I should say that the MOMA curator's interpretation of this self portrait seems reasonable, but Beckmann himself was notoriously unwilling to "explain" his paintings, as was Picasso. Of Guernica, asked to explain the horse and the bull, Picasso said, "One is a picture of a horse, the other is a picture of a bull."

Asked to explain "Departure," Beckmann told the owner of the painting that if he needed an explanation, he should send the paintings back.

Beckmann is one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, much underrated, often ignored, although appreciation of his stature is certainly rising.