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)
Morgens, 1954

Max Pechstein

Morgens, 1954

Sale Date: November 29, 2017

Auction Closed

Geknickter Baum vor pommerscher Dorflandschaft, 1927

Max Pechstein

Geknickter Baum vor pommerscher Dorflandschaft, 1927

Sale Date: December 7, 2017

Auction Closed

Genfer See, 1925

Max Pechstein

Genfer See, 1925

Sale Date: December 7, 2017

Auction Closed

Fischer Netz ziehend, 1924

Max Pechstein

Fischer Netz ziehend, 1924

Sale Date: December 7, 2017

Auction Closed

Bildnis Freda Wermel in blauer Bluse, 1946

Max Pechstein

Bildnis Freda Wermel in blauer Bluse, 1946

Sale Date: December 7, 2017

Auction Closed

Knieender Akt, 1913

Max Pechstein

Knieender Akt, 1913

Sale Date: December 7, 2017

Auction Closed

Akt im Spiegel, 1920

Max Pechstein

Akt im Spiegel, 1920

Sale Date: December 7, 2017

Auction Closed

Bewegungsstudie 6, 1917

Max Pechstein

Bewegungsstudie 6, 1917

Sale Date: December 7, 2017

Auction Closed

Browsing horses, 1917

Max Pechstein

Browsing horses, 1917

Sale Date: December 8, 2017

Auction Closed

Fischerkaten, 1928

Max Pechstein

Fischerkaten, 1928

Sale Date: December 6, 2017

Auction Closed

Im Atelier (Selbstbildnis), 1918

Max Pechstein

Im Atelier (Selbstbildnis), 1918

Sale Date: December 6, 2017

Auction Closed

Mondschein, 1922

Max Pechstein

Mondschein, 1922

Sale Date: November 18, 2017

Auction Closed

Akrobaten III (Varietészene), 1912

Max Pechstein

Akrobaten III (Varietészene), 1912

Sale Date: December 1, 2017

Auction Closed

Dünenlandschaft (Rowe), 1928

Max Pechstein

Dünenlandschaft (Rowe), 1928

Sale Date: December 1, 2017

Auction Closed

Blumenstillleben, 1925

Max Pechstein

Blumenstillleben, 1925

Sale Date: December 1, 2017

Auction Closed

Vorstadt, 1916

Max Pechstein

Vorstadt, 1916

Sale Date: December 1, 2017

Auction Closed

Variété, 1910

Max Pechstein

Variété, 1910

Sale Date: December 1, 2017

Auction Closed

Zwei Kutter im Hafen von Leba, 1922

Max Pechstein

Zwei Kutter im Hafen von Leba, 1922

Sale Date: December 1, 2017

Auction Closed

Das blaue Kleid: Bildnis Frau Dr. Plietzsch, 1921

Max Pechstein

Das blaue Kleid: Bildnis Frau Dr. Plietzsch, 1921

Sale Date: December 1, 2017

Auction Closed

Weiblicher Akt, 1921

Max Pechstein

Weiblicher Akt, 1921

Sale Date: November 21, 2017

Auction Closed

Liegender Akt, 1917

Max Pechstein

Liegender Akt, 1917

Sale Date: November 14, 2017

Auction Closed

Zug auf Viadukt

Max Pechstein

Zug auf Viadukt

Sale Date: November 14, 2017

Auction Closed

Boote am Ufer, 1909

Max Pechstein

Boote am Ufer, 1909

Sale Date: December 1, 2017

Auction Closed

Klönende Fischer, 1923

Max Pechstein

Klönende Fischer, 1923

Sale Date: December 1, 2017

Auction Closed

English (US)

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