Max Liebermann

Boys Bathing in the Sea, 1899

Perched on an elevated position, a view opens up of ten boys bouncing around in the surf under the supervision of a lifeguard dressed in dark oilskins. A slender strip of sky heralds a change in the weather. The motif of “bathing boys” illustrates Liebermann’s great interest in figure studies en plein air. He explored the theme in over thirty paintings and studies over a decade, from around 1899 to 1910. Not all of these works will have been produced outdoors. The artist may have used this oil s...

Signatur: M Liebermann, unten rechts, handschriftlich

Nummerierung: W 9982 Mod., Keilrahmen, handschriftlich, in weißer Kreide

Deutschland – Virginia/USA (aus dem Besitz der Liebermann-Erben); Christie’s New York 2.11.2005; Christie‘s London 7.2.2006; Privatsammlung, Schleswig-Holstein (bis 2020); MKdW (2020).
Matthias Eberle: Max Liebermann 1847–1935. Werkverzeichnis der Gemälde und Ölstudien, Bd. 1, 1865–1899, München 1995, Nr. 1899/21a.

Max Liebermann (1847 - 1935)

Boys Bathing in the Sea

1899

Oil on canvas

38 x 46 cm

Human

Inv.-Nr. 1 LIE 07

Museum Kunst der Westküste

Access 2020

Not on display