Paper

Student Artwork Guide

The mill

Max Beckmann, 1947

Name Class Date
Max Beckmann, The mill (1947). Public domain. See this canvas under a moving light: the drawing, the true colour under the varnish, the bare pigment

The facts

Artist
Max Beckmann allpaintingsstore.com/en/artists/max-beckmann/
Artist’s dates
1884 – 1950
Painted
1947
Movement
Cubism Objects broken apart and shown from several viewpoints at once, all flattened onto one surface.

Copyright This work is in the public domain. Max Beckmann died in 1950; copyright lasts 70 years after the artist’s death, so it ended in 2020.

Source: AllPaintingsStore.com — accessed Oct. 3, 2026

The mill — Max Beckmann Part 1 · The artwork

In context

The mill — Max Beckmann

When was this painted?

  1. 1880
  2. 1890
  3. 1900
  4. 1910
  5. 1920
  6. 1930
  7. 1940
  8. 1950

Row above: the years. Row below: how old the artist was at the start and at the end of each span — 0 at birth, 66 at death.

Painted when the artist was 63. The artist lived to 66. 67 of the 81 dated works by this artist in our catalogue came earlier.

Shaded: the lifetime of Max Beckmann (1884–1950) ▲ this work, 1947 every dated painting, decade by decade

First works: up to 1925 Main working years: 1925–1944 Late works: from 1944

Those three bands split the works this catalogue has a date for into a first quarter, a middle half and a last quarter. They are not the artist’s complete output: a thin stretch may be a gap in the record rather than a quiet spell. The same years with the artist’s life laid along them

Compare with

Pick one work above: name two things it shares with this one, and one thing that's different.

More works to set beside this one: allpaintingsstore.com/en/art/similar/max-beckmann-the-mill-8LSVXD-en/

Colours

Measured from the image

    Main colour

    Phthalo Green #191b21

    Catalogued palette

    • #191B21
    • #CEC5C0
    • #3B3F49
    • #626A87

    These colours inside the artist’s whole palette Find other paintings by colour

    Main colour name
    Phthalo Green
    Intensity
    Monochromatic How saturated and varied the colours are, from a single toned-down hue to many bright ones.
    Contrast
    Statement How much the colours differ in lightness and saturation across the picture.
    Harmony
    Softly Mixed Palette How well the colours work together, from clashing to fully unified.
    Brightness
    Deep_shadow How light or dark the picture reads overall, from deep shadow to bright highlight.
    Saturation
    Muted How pure and strong the colours are, from near-grey to fully vivid.

    Where in the world is this painting looked at?

    • under 1%
    • 1–3%
    • 3–8%
    • 8–20%
    • 20% and over
    This painting alone has too few recorded visitors to map, so the plate reads every work by Max Beckmann over the last twelve months — 49 countries in all. Where these figures come from

    The ten leading countries

    1. 1 China 25.9%
    2. 2 United States of America 9.9%
    3. 3 France 6.9%
    4. 4 Germany 5.6%
    5. 5 Spain 5.6%
    6. 6 Argentina 3.4%
    7. 7 Italy 3.4%
    8. 8 Colombia 3.0%
    9. 9 United Kingdom 3.0%
    10. 10 Hong Kong 3.0%
    11. · 39 other countries 30.3%

    Find the three darkest countries on the map. Is the museum that keeps this painting in any of them? Write down one reason people far away might look at it.

    The 20 most looked-at works by Max Beckmann

    1. 1 The Night, 1919 51.1%
    2. 2 The Iron Bridge (View of Frankfurt), 1922 9.9%
    3. 3 Great Scene of Agony, 1906 4.0%
    4. 4 The actors, 1942 1.7%
    5. 5 Odysseus and Calypso, 1943 1.7%
    6. 6 Self Portrait with a Bucket Hat, 1921 1.7%
    7. 7 Columbine, 1950 1.4%
    8. 8 Rugby players, 1929 1.4%
    9. 9 Bird's hell, 1938 1.4%
    10. 10 Dancing bar in Baden-Baden, Bayerische St, 1923 1.4%
    11. 11 The Old Actress, 1926 1.1%
    12. 12 Self-Portrait in Florence, 1907 0.9%
    13. 13 Seascape with poplars, 1924 0.9%
    14. 14 Family Picture, Moma NY, 1920 0.9%
    15. 15 Still Life with Large Green Fruits 0.9%
    16. 16 Argonaux 0.9%
    17. 17 Temptation, 1937 0.6%
    18. 18 Self-Portrait with Trumpet, 1938 0.6%
    19. 19 The King, 1937 0.6%
    20. 38 The mill, 1947 this painting 0.3%

    Together these works take 83.4% of all the attention this artist's paintings received over the last twelve months. The catalogue holds 221 works by this artist, of which 70 were looked at at least once. This painting ranks 38 of them, with 0.3% of that attention. The same counts, month by month

    Bars measure attention, not quality. Pick the work at the top and this one: name one thing that might make a painting famous beyond how well it is painted.

    Source: AllPaintingsStore.com — accessed Oct. 3, 2026

    The mill — Max Beckmann Part 2 · In context

    Artist and museum

    Artist

    Max Beckmann

    Born in Leipzig, Germany

    early life and artistic development

    max beckmann, a renowned german painter, draftsman, printmaker, sculptor, and writer, was born on february 12, 1884, in leipzig, saxony. his artistic journey began with academically correct depictions, which later transformed into distorted figures and spaces, reflecting his altered vision of humanity after serving as a medical orderly in world war i.

    artistic style and influences

    beckmann's style, rooted in the imagery of medieval stained glass, was influenced by various artists, including cézanne, van gogh, blake, rembrandt, and rubens. he also drew inspiration from northern european artists of the late middle ages and early renaissance, such as bosch, bruegel, and matthias grünewald.

    notable works and exhibitions

    the bark (acquired by the national gallery in berlin) self-portrait in tuxedo (purchased in 1928) * retrospectives at the städtische kunsthalle mannheim (1928) and in basle and zurich (1930)

    later life and exile

    beckmann's fortunes changed with the rise of adolf hitler, leading to his dismissal from the art school in frankfurt and the confiscation of over 500 of his works. he lived in self-imposed exile in amsterdam for ten years, failing to obtain a visa for the united states.

    legacy

    taught at the art schools of washington university in st. louis and the brooklyn museum first retrospective in the united states took place in 1948 at the city art museum, saint louis * max-slevogt galerie, germany, features a collection of his works

    max-slevogt galerie, germany

    history of painting

    max beckmann's artworks on AllPaintingsStore

    key dates: born: february 12, 1884 died: december 27, 1950

    Where to read more

    • The artist Max Beckmann allpaintingsstore.com/en/artists/max-beckmann/
    • Similar works More works to compare allpaintingsstore.com/en/art/similar/max-beckmann-the-mill-8LSVXD-en/

    Find this online

    QR code linking to the download page for The mill

    allpaintingsstore.com/en/art/download/max-beckmann-the-mill-8LSVXD-en/

    Cite this artwork

    MLA
    Beckmann, Max. The mill. 1947, https://allpaintingsstore.com/en/art/max-beckmann-the-mill-8LSVXD-en/
    APA
    Beckmann, Max (1947). The mill [Painting]. https://allpaintingsstore.com/en/art/max-beckmann-the-mill-8LSVXD-en/
    Chicago
    Max Beckmann. The mill. 1947. https://allpaintingsstore.com/en/art/max-beckmann-the-mill-8LSVXD-en/
    Harvard
    Beckmann, Max (1947) The mill. Available at: https://allpaintingsstore.com/en/art/max-beckmann-the-mill-8LSVXD-en/

    Source: AllPaintingsStore.com — accessed Oct. 3, 2026

    The mill — Max Beckmann Part 3 · Artist and museum

    Look closely

    The mill — Max Beckmann

    Look closely

    Answer in your own words. There are no wrong answers here — only answers you can explain.

    1. What catches your eye first, and why?
    2. Which colours or shapes create the mood — and what is that mood?
    3. Our catalogue files this work under: portraits. Do you agree? What would you add, or take away?
    4. Look back at The Night (1919), earlier in this guide. Name two things it shares with this work, and one that is different.
    5. Cubism: Objects broken apart and shown from several viewpoints at once, all flattened onto one surface. Where can you see that in this work?

    Your response

    Write a short paragraph about this artwork. Use the facts from the earlier parts of this guide, and your answers above.

    Source: AllPaintingsStore.com — accessed Oct. 3, 2026

    The mill — Max Beckmann Part 4 · Look closely

    Questions & Answers

    How can I get a print of "The mill" by Max Beckmann?

    A print of "The mill" by Max Beckmann can be ordered directly on its Fine Art Print page: a fine art print on cotton canvas or archival canvas paper.

    In which year and which movement was "The mill" made?

    "The mill" by Max Beckmann is dated 1947 and belongs to Cubism.

    How do contrast and harmony combine in "The mill"?

    The color composition of "The mill" by Max Beckmann combines a statement contrast with a softly mixed palette harmony.