Max Pechstein

(German, 1881–1955)

Max Pechstein was a German Expressionist painter and printmaker known for his boldly colored nudes and landscapes. “Art is not a pastime, it is a duty with respect to the people, a public affair,” the artist once stated. Born Hermann Max Pechstein on December 31, 1881 in Zwickau, Germany, he studied art in Dresden where he met the painter Erich Heckel. In 1906, Heckel invited him to join the collective Die Brücke which had been formed a year earlier by Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff. Primarily working in the Impressionist tradition, after joining the group Pechstein began painting in a vibrant Fauvist palette. In a similar vein to Paul Gauguin, Pechstein became interested in primitive art from other cultures as an influence after visiting the Dresden Ethnographical Museum. This interest in the imagery and culture of exotic locales is evinced in his vibrant 1910 painting, Indian and Woman. In 1914, the artist traveled to the Palau Islands in the South Pacific so he could experience the culture first-hand. Pechstein’s art was deemed “degenerate” by the Nazi regime in 1933 and he was forced to resign his teaching position at the Berlin Academy, though it was reinstated after the war. He died on June 29, 1955 at the age of 73. Today, the artist’s works are held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Albertina in Vienna, and the Von der Heydt Museum in Wuppertal, Germany, among others.

Related Categories

19th-Century European and British Art, Drawings and Works on Paper, Impressionist and Modern Art

Related Artists

Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Otto Mueller, Emil Nolde, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff

Most Expensive Artwork Sold at Auction

Weib mit Inder auf Teppich (+ Früchte II, verso), 1910
Sold price: 4,658,011 USD

Max Pechstein Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Max Pechstein (5,645 results)
Yali VI (Das kniende Mädchen mit Vögeln)

Max Pechstein

Yali VI (Das kniende Mädchen mit Vögeln)

Sale Date: September 17, 2022

Auction Closed

Yali IV (Yalis Werbung), 1923

Max Pechstein

Yali IV (Yalis Werbung), 1923

Sale Date: September 17, 2022

Auction Closed

Yali VIII (Das weiße Weib mit den farbigen..., 1923

Max Pechstein

Yali VIII (Das weiße Weib mit den farbigen..., 1923

Sale Date: September 17, 2022

Auction Closed

Yali II (Die Ona und das weiße Mädchen), 1923

Max Pechstein

Yali II (Die Ona und das weiße Mädchen), 1923

Sale Date: September 17, 2022

Auction Closed

Yali V (Das Mädchen auf der Flucht), 1923

Max Pechstein

Yali V (Das Mädchen auf der Flucht), 1923

Sale Date: September 17, 2022

Auction Closed

Einäugige Mutter, 1921

Max Pechstein

Einäugige Mutter, 1921

Sale Date: August 28, 2022

Auction Closed

BOXPAUSE, 1923

Max Pechstein

BOXPAUSE, 1923

Sale Date: June 10, 2022

Auction Closed

Fisher in der kneipe (Pescadores en la..., 1922

Max Pechstein

Fisher in der kneipe (Pescadores en la..., 1922

Sale Date: August 11, 2022

Auction Closed

Weiblicher Kopf, 1918

Max Pechstein

Weiblicher Kopf, 1918

Sale Date: August 6, 2022

Auction Closed

Sitzender Akt (Akt auf dem Hocker), 1914

Max Pechstein

Sitzender Akt (Akt auf dem Hocker), 1914

Sale Date: June 29, 2022

Auction Closed

Große Mühlengrabenbrücke (Leba Hinterpommern), 1921

Max Pechstein

Große Mühlengrabenbrücke (Leba Hinterpommern), 1921

Sale Date: June 29, 2022

Auction Closed

In der Hängematte VI, 1910

Max Pechstein

In der Hängematte VI, 1910

Sale Date: June 29, 2022

Auction Closed

Komposition (mit drei Palauakten), 1918

Max Pechstein

Komposition (mit drei Palauakten), 1918

Sale Date: May 30, 2022

Auction Closed

Auf dem Feld, 1941

Max Pechstein

Auf dem Feld, 1941

Sale Date: June 4, 2022

Auction Closed

Die Vase, 1908

Max Pechstein

Die Vase, 1908

Sale Date: June 4, 2022

Auction Closed

Bildnis Freda Wermel in gelbem Kostüm, 1946

Max Pechstein

Bildnis Freda Wermel in gelbem Kostüm, 1946

Sale Date: June 4, 2022

Auction Closed

Yali VI (Das kniende Mädchen mit den Vögeln, 1923

Max Pechstein

Yali VI (Das kniende Mädchen mit den Vögeln, 1923

Sale Date: June 3, 2022

Auction Closed

Spaziergang, 1922

Max Pechstein

Spaziergang, 1922

Sale Date: May 27, 2022

Auction Closed

Komposition mit drei Palau-Akten, 1918, 1918

Max Pechstein

Komposition mit drei Palau-Akten, 1918, 1918

Sale Date: June 1, 2022

Auction Closed

Der Morgan, 1919

Max Pechstein

Der Morgan, 1919

Sale Date: June 5, 2022

Auction Closed

Stilleben mit chinesischem Buddha, 1923–1924

Max Pechstein

Stilleben mit chinesischem Buddha, 1923–1924

Sale Date: June 17, 2022

Auction Closed

Fischerleben Monterosso, 1951

Max Pechstein

Fischerleben Monterosso, 1951

Sale Date: June 11, 2022

Auction Closed

Im Harem, 1909

Max Pechstein

Im Harem, 1909

Sale Date: June 10, 2022

Auction Closed

In der Hängematte/Boote auf der Ostee..., 1910–1922

Max Pechstein

In der Hängematte/Boote auf der Ostee..., 1910–1922

Sale Date: June 10, 2022

Auction Closed

English (US)

©2024 Artnet Worldwide Corporation. All rights reserved.