LIEBERMANN, Max
(b. 1847, Berlin, d. 1935, Berlin)

Stevenstift in Leiden

1889
Oil on canvas, 78 x 100 cm
Nationalgalerie, Berlin

When young, Liebermann tackled unpopular subjects including orphanages, old people's homes, and factories, usually painted with a sunny, matter-of-fact naturalism. Stoical in their making do, his models' resolutely "good face" is still light-years away from whatever social criticism their condition might imply. However, in their day such subjects suggested an unseemly curiosity concerning subjects best left unseen.




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