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)
Fischer von Monterosso, 1924

Max Pechstein

Fischer von Monterosso, 1924

Sale Date: December 1, 2017

Auction Closed

RUSSISCHES BALLETT III

Max Pechstein

RUSSISCHES BALLETT III

Sale Date: November 14, 2017

Auction Closed

Fischerboote an der Kurischen Nehrung

Max Pechstein

Fischerboote an der Kurischen Nehrung

Sale Date: November 15, 2017

Auction Closed

Südfranzösische Landschaft, 1931

Max Pechstein

Südfranzösische Landschaft, 1931

Sale Date: November 14, 2017

Auction Closed

Negerskulpturen, 1919

Max Pechstein

Negerskulpturen, 1919

Sale Date: November 21, 2017

Auction Closed

Children Playing with Marbles, 1910

Max Pechstein

Children Playing with Marbles, 1910

Sale Date: November 15, 2017

Auction Closed

Landschaft mit Kirche / Landscape with Church, 1922

Max Pechstein

Landschaft mit Kirche / Landscape with Church, 1922

Sale Date: November 3, 2017

Auction Closed

Der Kritiker (Dr.Paul Fechter), 1921

Max Pechstein

Der Kritiker (Dr.Paul Fechter), 1921

Sale Date: September 29, 2017

Auction Closed

Sonnenblumen, 1912

Max Pechstein

Sonnenblumen, 1912

Sale Date: September 23, 2017

Auction Closed

Russisches Ballett I, 1912

Max Pechstein

Russisches Ballett I, 1912

Sale Date: September 19, 2017

Auction Closed

Südsee: Toilette nach dem Bad, 1919

Max Pechstein

Südsee: Toilette nach dem Bad, 1919

Sale Date: September 19, 2017

Auction Closed

Bildnis (mit Kopftuch), 1920

Max Pechstein

Bildnis (mit Kopftuch), 1920

Sale Date: August 5, 2017

Auction Closed

Kauernder Akt, 1909–1912

Max Pechstein

Kauernder Akt, 1909–1912

Sale Date: August 5, 2017

Auction Closed

Frau mit Pelz

Max Pechstein

Frau mit Pelz

Sale Date: June 1, 2017

Auction Closed

2 Bl. mit Eingeborenenszenen, from..., 1919

Max Pechstein

2 Bl. mit Eingeborenenszenen, from..., 1919

Sale Date: July 1, 2017

Auction Closed

Auf dem Lager, 1931

Max Pechstein

Auf dem Lager, 1931

Sale Date: June 24, 2017

Auction Closed

Auf dem Lager, 1947

Max Pechstein

Auf dem Lager, 1947

Sale Date: June 24, 2017

Auction Closed

Zittend Naakt, 1918

Max Pechstein

Zittend Naakt, 1918

Sale Date: June 28, 2017

Auction Closed

Der Schatten III./Der Heidenstamm III (2..., 1918

Max Pechstein

Der Schatten III./Der Heidenstamm III (2..., 1918

Sale Date: June 9, 2017

Auction Closed

KURISCHE BRAUT I (CORONIAN BRIDE I), 1909

Max Pechstein

KURISCHE BRAUT I (CORONIAN BRIDE I), 1909

Sale Date: June 22, 2017

Auction Closed

LANDSCHAFT MIT PFERD UND REITER (LANDSCAPE..., 1911

Max Pechstein

LANDSCHAFT MIT PFERD UND REITER (LANDSCAPE..., 1911

Sale Date: June 22, 2017

Auction Closed

Sommerabend, 1927

Max Pechstein

Sommerabend, 1927

Sale Date: June 30, 2017

Auction Closed

Sonnenuntergang (Lebastrom), 1925

Max Pechstein

Sonnenuntergang (Lebastrom), 1925

Sale Date: June 10, 2017

Auction Closed

Sommermorgen, 1919

Max Pechstein

Sommermorgen, 1919

Sale Date: June 10, 2017

Auction Closed

English (US)

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