Max Beckmann (1884-1950) was one of the most important German visual artists of the first half of the 20th century. The St. Louis Art Museum has the largest collection of his paintings in the world.

In recognition of that fact, the museum has just published “Max Beckmann at the Saint Louis Art Museum: The Paintings,” by Lynette Roth (published by Prestel, 272 pages, $65). It’s a volume that provides an intelligent layman’s guide to Beckmann — painter, sculptor, printmaker — and his world, as well as a detailed guide to the canvases in St. Louis.