Self Portrait Yellow-Pink
Artist	Max Beckmann
Year	1943
Medium	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	94.5 cm × 56 cm (37.2 in × 22 in)
Location	Private collection

The Self Portrait Yellow-Pink by the German artist Max Beckmann was painted in 1943 in the Netherlands. In December 2022, it was sold by the auctioneer Grisebach for more than €20 million (US $20.7 million), making it the most expensive painting sold in Germany to date. ^{[1] [2]}

Together with his wife Mathilde, Max Beckmann went into exile to the Netherlands in 1937 after his works were identified as Degenerate Art by the Nazi government. ^[3] The two pretended to be vacationing but really were trying to leave for the United States, which they would accomplish only after World War II, in 1947. ^[4]

In 1943 Beckmann painted the Self Portrait Yellow-Pink in Amsterdam, while awaiting a visa to the United States. ^{[5] [4]} He painted the portrait for his wife Mathilde “Quappi“ von Kaulbach, who assisted him throughout their marriage by keeping track of his catalogue raisonnee. ^[4]

Beckmann depicted himself standing with crossed arms in front of a mirror in a red frame. ^[6] The dress he wears is held in yellow and seemingly has fur on it. ^[6] In contrast to his earlier self-portraits which were painted in dark colors, this one was painted in bright colors. ^[6]

The self-portrait was presented by Max Beckmann to his wife Mathilde, who kept it until her death in 1986. ^[7] In 1996 it came into the possession of a Swiss private collector. ^[6]

That the portrait was on the market was quite a surprise, and in Germany there was no comparable work of Beckmann on sale since the end of World War II. ^[6] At the auction its potential price was estimated between 20 and 30 million. ^[6] The auction house Villa Grisebach in Berlin sold it in December 2022 for 20 million Euro. ^[5] It was the highest price for any painting sold in Germany and the second highest for a painting by Max Beckmann. ^[7] It was purchased by Reinhold Würth, a construction entrepreneur of the Würth company. ^[5] It was welcomed as a good addition to the other Beckmanns in the Würth collection. ^[7] The portrait was said to be exhibited in the company's art collection and made accessible to the public for free. ^[5]