Herbert Beck. Miniatures

Leipzig-born artist Herbert Beck (1920–2010) is known for his unusually large-format watercolors. At the same time he has also created numerous small watercolor works that he called »miniatures«. For the first time, the volume presents a rich selection of these masterpieces and transports us into the painter's poetic, Expressionist and Surrealist world of imagery.

Due to their special development process, the small-format works have a special place in the artist’s oeuvre: in order to correctly measure the ratio of paint and water in the large watercolors, Herbert Beck repeatedly wipes off the paint-soaked brush on pieces of paper. From these random color constellations, he later developed his own compositions with atmospheric landscapes and expressive figures. The book introduces the broad spectrum of »miniatures« against the background of Beck's artistic development and classifies the works in the tradition of 20th-century miniature painting.

Artist: Herbert Beck
Editor: Nachlass Herbert Beck
Text: Ina Ewers-Schultz, Andrea Knop, Regina Landherr
Design: Beck & Eggeling (Antonia Eggeling)

German, English
Hardcover, 28 x 24 cm
150 pages, 179 illustrations

Available works of the artist

Herbert Beck, Abstrakte Landschaft (aus der Serie 'Eigene Welten'), c. 2005, © Nachlass Herbert Beck

Herbert Beck, Abendrot II, 1999, © Nachlass Herbert Beck

Herbert Beck, Landschaft mit gelbem Licht, © Nachlass Herbert Beck

Herbert Beck, Mohn und Iris, © © Nachlass Herbert Beck