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)
SÄGEMÜHLE, LEBA (HOLTZLAGERPLATZ) (SAWMILL,..., 1922

Max Pechstein

SÄGEMÜHLE, LEBA (HOLTZLAGERPLATZ) (SAWMILL,..., 1922

Sale Date: March 1, 2018

Auction Closed

AM FLUSS (AT THE RIVER), 1923

Max Pechstein

AM FLUSS (AT THE RIVER), 1923

Sale Date: March 1, 2018

Auction Closed

Baumblüte an der Lühe, 1919

Max Pechstein

Baumblüte an der Lühe, 1919

Sale Date: February 28, 2018

Auction Closed

Das graphische Werk Max Pechsteins (bk w/10 , 1920

Max Pechstein

Das graphische Werk Max Pechsteins (bk w/10 , 1920

Sale Date: November 20, 2017

Auction Closed

Frauenporträt - Bildnisse X - Köpfe III,..., 1917

Max Pechstein

Frauenporträt - Bildnisse X - Köpfe III,..., 1917

Sale Date: December 6, 2017

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel (Segelboote), 1911

Max Pechstein

Ohne Titel (Segelboote), 1911

Sale Date: December 6, 2017

Auction Closed

Eingeborenenszenen (2 works from Reisebilder , 1919

Max Pechstein

Eingeborenenszenen (2 works from Reisebilder , 1919

Sale Date: December 9, 2017

Auction Closed

Brandungswelle, 1948

Max Pechstein

Brandungswelle, 1948

Sale Date: December 30, 2017

Auction Closed

Russisches Ballett I, 1912

Max Pechstein

Russisches Ballett I, 1912

Sale Date: December 30, 2017

Auction Closed

Badende mit Kind, 1920

Max Pechstein

Badende mit Kind, 1920

Sale Date: December 2, 2017

Auction Closed

Nach dem Bad, 1920

Max Pechstein

Nach dem Bad, 1920

Sale Date: December 2, 2017

Auction Closed

Gehöft, 1919

Max Pechstein

Gehöft, 1919

Sale Date: December 2, 2017

Auction Closed

Weihnachten, 1916

Max Pechstein

Weihnachten, 1916

Sale Date: December 2, 2017

Auction Closed

Versonnen (Liegender weiblicher Akt), 1908

Max Pechstein

Versonnen (Liegender weiblicher Akt), 1908

Sale Date: December 2, 2017

Auction Closed

Dorf mit weitem Kornfeld, 1910

Max Pechstein

Dorf mit weitem Kornfeld, 1910

Sale Date: December 2, 2017

Auction Closed

Uferlandschaft mit Schilf, 1938

Max Pechstein

Uferlandschaft mit Schilf, 1938

Sale Date: December 2, 2017

Auction Closed

Vor blauem Vorhang, 1917

Max Pechstein

Vor blauem Vorhang, 1917

Sale Date: December 2, 2017

Auction Closed

Portrait der Maria Lex

Max Pechstein

Portrait der Maria Lex

Sale Date: December 1, 2017

Auction Closed

Alte Frau, 1923

Max Pechstein

Alte Frau, 1923

Sale Date: December 2, 2017

Auction Closed

Spaziergang, 1922

Max Pechstein

Spaziergang, 1922

Sale Date: December 2, 2017

Auction Closed

Beim Haaraufstecken, 1922

Max Pechstein

Beim Haaraufstecken, 1922

Sale Date: December 2, 2017

Auction Closed

Einäugige Mutter, 1921

Max Pechstein

Einäugige Mutter, 1921

Sale Date: December 2, 2017

Auction Closed

Fischer am Meer, 1949

Max Pechstein

Fischer am Meer, 1949

Sale Date: December 2, 2017

Auction Closed

Brücke, 1922

Max Pechstein

Brücke, 1922

Sale Date: November 29, 2017

Auction Closed

English (US)

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