Focus on Young Men by the Sea and explore the Description.
The painting, executed when the painter was 21 years old, reflects his academic training, and at the same time, the influence of contemporary post-impressionist painters, like Paul Cézanne and Vincent van Gogh. Beckmann had visited France the previous year and had the chance of knowing personally the work of several contemporary French painters.
The large painting depicts several nude young men, near the sea, of which six appear in the foreground. Four of them are up and two seated in the ground. The boy to the right seems to be playing a musical instrument. Other youngsters at the background seem to be engaging in playful activity and swimming. The work seems to reflect an ideal of male classical beauty, with the boys in the foreground appearing in several poses, giving it the resemblance of an anatomic study, and at the same time illustrates his interest by the sea. The academic training of the young painter is connected to his still recent knowledge of more contemporary artistic tendencies, that would influence him greatly in the future.
Vincent van Gogh post-impressionist Paul Cézanne France