"Max Beckmann is widely regarded as one of the most important figurative painters of the last hundred years. In On My Painting he reveals what it is that inspires his work. It was written in 1938 at a crucial juncture in Beckmann's life, and read by him at the opening in London of the Twentieth-Century German Art exhibition, a deliberate riposte to the Degenerate Art exhibition staged by the Nazi regime in Germany. In concise, emotive, sometimes enigmatic language, Beckmann outlines not only his artistic, but also his moral and spiritual vision. On My Painting is essential for anyone seeking to understand one of the most complex artists of the twentieth century."--BOOK JACKET.