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)
SOUTH SEA (FAMILY ON A SHIP'S BOW), 1919

Max Pechstein

SOUTH SEA (FAMILY ON A SHIP'S BOW), 1919

Sale Date: June 14, 2019

Auction Closed

FISHERMEN, 1919

Max Pechstein

FISHERMEN, 1919

Sale Date: June 14, 2019

Auction Closed

Fischerkopf, 1919

Max Pechstein

Fischerkopf, 1919

Sale Date: June 1, 2019

Auction Closed

Four Men At A Table, 1923

Max Pechstein

Four Men At A Table, 1923

Sale Date: June 8, 2019

Auction Closed

SITZENDER AKT (SEATED NUDE), 1914

Max Pechstein

SITZENDER AKT (SEATED NUDE), 1914

Sale Date: June 20, 2019

Auction Closed

Badende mit Kind, 1920

Max Pechstein

Badende mit Kind, 1920

Sale Date: May 31, 2019

Auction Closed

Der Säugling, 1917

Max Pechstein

Der Säugling, 1917

Sale Date: May 31, 2019

Auction Closed

Aufkommende Flut, 1953

Max Pechstein

Aufkommende Flut, 1953

Sale Date: June 8, 2019

Auction Closed

Mädchen, 1909

Max Pechstein

Mädchen, 1909

Sale Date: June 8, 2019

Auction Closed

Fischer am Strand, 1912

Max Pechstein

Fischer am Strand, 1912

Sale Date: June 8, 2019

Auction Closed

Sonnenblumen im Garten, 1948

Max Pechstein

Sonnenblumen im Garten, 1948

Sale Date: June 8, 2019

Auction Closed

Pechstein_Hermann Max Damenbildnis...., 1913–1914

Max Pechstein

Pechstein_Hermann Max Damenbildnis...., 1913–1914

Sale Date: June 7, 2019

Auction Closed

Fischer mit Fang im Netz, 1923

Max Pechstein

Fischer mit Fang im Netz, 1923

Sale Date: June 1, 2019

Auction Closed

Zwei Fischer mit Netz, 1923

Max Pechstein

Zwei Fischer mit Netz, 1923

Sale Date: June 1, 2019

Auction Closed

Rauchende, 1920

Max Pechstein

Rauchende, 1920

Sale Date: June 1, 2019

Auction Closed

Im Wasser, 1921

Max Pechstein

Im Wasser, 1921

Sale Date: June 1, 2019

Auction Closed

Mühle und Ruderboot, 1931

Max Pechstein

Mühle und Ruderboot, 1931

Sale Date: June 1, 2019

Auction Closed

We forgive our debtors, 1921

Max Pechstein

We forgive our debtors, 1921

Sale Date: June 7, 2019

Auction Closed

Sitting nude, 1918

Max Pechstein

Sitting nude, 1918

Sale Date: June 7, 2019

Auction Closed

Junges Mädchen am Meer - Young Girl by the Sea, 1923

Max Pechstein

Junges Mädchen am Meer - Young Girl by the Sea, 1923

Sale Date: June 4, 2019

Auction Closed

Boats on the beach (Harbour with fishermen,..., 1909

Max Pechstein

Boats on the beach (Harbour with fishermen,..., 1909

Sale Date: June 5, 2019

Auction Closed

Ostsee Dünenlandschaft, 1944

Max Pechstein

Ostsee Dünenlandschaft, 1944

Sale Date: May 31, 2019

Auction Closed

Fischerboote im Hafen, 1933

Max Pechstein

Fischerboote im Hafen, 1933

Sale Date: May 31, 2019

Auction Closed

Boxpause, 1910

Max Pechstein

Boxpause, 1910

Sale Date: May 31, 2019

Auction Closed

English (US)

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