Scene from the Destruction of Messina

In December, 1908, an enormous earthquake destroyed the port of Messina in Southern Italy, killing 80,000 people. Beckmann focused on an account of escaped convicts struggling amongst one another in the aftermath of the quake. A single uniformed police officer in the middleground points a gun in an attempt to maintain order. The artist found a colorful beauty in the horrific event and described his palette as “a new, still richer variation of violet red and pallid yellow gold.”