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)
Karneval V, 1910

Max Pechstein

Karneval V, 1910

Sale Date: May 31, 2017

Auction Closed

Karneval II, 1910

Max Pechstein

Karneval II, 1910

Sale Date: May 31, 2017

Auction Closed

Vor dem Spiegel, 1910

Max Pechstein

Vor dem Spiegel, 1910

Sale Date: May 31, 2017

Auction Closed

Fischerboote auf Leba, 1934

Max Pechstein

Fischerboote auf Leba, 1934

Sale Date: May 31, 2017

Auction Closed

Fischer beim Netze-Flicken am Strand, Nidden, 1919

Max Pechstein

Fischer beim Netze-Flicken am Strand, Nidden, 1919

Sale Date: May 31, 2017

Auction Closed

Stehende Frau im Hemd, die Arme hinter..., 1910–1911

Max Pechstein

Stehende Frau im Hemd, die Arme hinter..., 1910–1911

Sale Date: May 31, 2017

Auction Closed

Stillleben mit Putto und Calla, 1919

Max Pechstein

Stillleben mit Putto und Calla, 1919

Sale Date: May 31, 2017

Auction Closed

Reclining Female Nude, 1917

Max Pechstein

Reclining Female Nude, 1917

Sale Date: May 21, 2017

Auction Closed

Venus

Max Pechstein

Venus

Sale Date: June 3, 2017

Auction Closed

Waldstück, 1934

Max Pechstein

Waldstück, 1934

Sale Date: June 2, 2017

Auction Closed

Badende Männer, 1919

Max Pechstein

Badende Männer, 1919

Sale Date: June 2, 2017

Auction Closed

Weibliche Akte, 1918

Max Pechstein

Weibliche Akte, 1918

Sale Date: June 2, 2017

Auction Closed

DAMENBILDNIS (CHARLOTTE PECHSTEIN) (PORTRAIT , 1920

Max Pechstein

DAMENBILDNIS (CHARLOTTE PECHSTEIN) (PORTRAIT , 1920

Sale Date: May 17, 2017

Auction Closed

LANDSCHAFT (LANDSCAPE)

Max Pechstein

LANDSCHAFT (LANDSCAPE)

Sale Date: May 17, 2017

Auction Closed

STILLEBEN (STILL LIFE), 1919

Max Pechstein

STILLEBEN (STILL LIFE), 1919

Sale Date: May 16, 2017

Auction Closed

Reisebilder

Max Pechstein

Reisebilder

Sale Date: May 13, 2017

Auction Closed

Yali V (Gewitter)

Max Pechstein

Yali V (Gewitter)

Sale Date: May 13, 2017

Auction Closed

Malaie

Max Pechstein

Malaie

Sale Date: May 13, 2017

Auction Closed

Segelboote vor der Küste, 1923

Max Pechstein

Segelboote vor der Küste, 1923

Sale Date: May 2, 2017

Auction Closed

Nach dem Bad & Am Ufer, 1920

Max Pechstein

Nach dem Bad & Am Ufer, 1920

Sale Date: March 29, 2017

Auction Closed

Akrobaten III (Varietészene), 1912

Max Pechstein

Akrobaten III (Varietészene), 1912

Sale Date: March 29, 2017

Auction Closed

Wartende

Max Pechstein

Wartende

Sale Date: February 24, 2017

Auction Closed

Stehende und sitzende Akte, 1911

Max Pechstein

Stehende und sitzende Akte, 1911

Sale Date: March 2, 2017

Auction Closed

Südsee: Toilette nach dem Bad, 1919

Max Pechstein

Südsee: Toilette nach dem Bad, 1919

Sale Date: March 2, 2017

Auction Closed

English (US)

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