A powerful king in a purple outer garment sits in front of us with his legs apart, his sword in his hands, the queen close by to his left and a shrouded figure to his right. The painting existed beforehand in a slightly different version. Immediately after emigrating, Max Beckmann made changes to the 1933 version of the painting, which he had actually considered to be finished and which had already been exhibited. It must have been important to him, because "something had changed". The first version already contained the figures with the same characters, postures and gestures as well as the same positioning. However, in 1937, the artist added shadow and reduced the self-portrait-like features. Now, the viewer is no longer looked at so openly by the three characters, they have retreated into the shadows a little and seem more mysterious.

Here, Beckmann portrays himself as a mysterious king, protecting the queen and being advised by a dark figure, who seems to belong to another world. In the first version, the figure seems to ward off whatever it is threatening the royal couple. In the second version, it seems to be advising the king to keep clear of it. If the king's costume also represents Beckmann's opinion of life as a theatre, he presents himself in proud elevation and self-assertiveness, clearly as a reaction to the public outlawry in Germany.  However, this reaction, as in the triptych Departure, is also connected to the renunciation "of the speciousness of life", here with the withdrawal into a mysterious shady kingdom beyond reality. There, the king has his power, and nothing can reach it, it cannot be threatened by anything.

Further reading:
Lenz, Christian: Schön und schrecklich wie das Leben. Die Kunst Max Beckmanns 1937 bis 1945. In: Max Beckmann. Exil in Amsterdam. Ausstellungskatalog. Amsterdam / München: Hatje Canz 2007/2008, S. 33-107