Self-portrait

1936

This year and the coming, two successful exhibitions are held in Sweden. Swedish critics are no more a threat, on the contrary, and he feels secure on the creative side. Beer keeps now a studio on Bergsgatan in Stockholm, he has become more conciliatory to things Swedish. At 43, he has aged prematurely, “with the haggard looks of an ageing Beethoven or recalling even more precisely Rembrandt’s physiognomy with the clumsy nose, the sensual mouth, the piercing eyes”, according to the painter-journalist Kåge Liefwendal. He is tired but has kept the travel demon, the curiosity about society and his boyish reactions to things. Severe and sad features, but he stills enjoys life very much and is ready to prove it at occasions.