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)
Flieger, aus: Bildnisse, 1917

Max Pechstein

Flieger, aus: Bildnisse, 1917

Sale Date: June 5, 2014

Auction Closed

Vergrämt, 1920

Max Pechstein

Vergrämt, 1920

Sale Date: June 5, 2014

Auction Closed

Frau mit Pelz, 1917

Max Pechstein

Frau mit Pelz, 1917

Sale Date: June 5, 2014

Auction Closed

Herbstmeer, 1924

Max Pechstein

Herbstmeer, 1924

Sale Date: June 6, 2014

Auction Closed

Die chinesische Jacke, 1918

Max Pechstein

Die chinesische Jacke, 1918

Sale Date: June 6, 2014

Auction Closed

Boote am Dangaster Priel / Kühe (from Brücke), 1910

Max Pechstein

Boote am Dangaster Priel / Kühe (from Brücke), 1910

Sale Date: June 6, 2014

Auction Closed

Hecht in Seeuferlandschaft, 1936

Max Pechstein

Hecht in Seeuferlandschaft, 1936

Sale Date: June 6, 2014

Auction Closed

Blaue Kornpuppen auf einer Waldwiese, 1947

Max Pechstein

Blaue Kornpuppen auf einer Waldwiese, 1947

Sale Date: June 6, 2014

Auction Closed

Exotisches Stillleben, 1922

Max Pechstein

Exotisches Stillleben, 1922

Sale Date: June 6, 2014

Auction Closed

Monterosso al mare, 1913

Max Pechstein

Monterosso al mare, 1913

Sale Date: June 6, 2014

Auction Closed

Forellenangler, 1930

Max Pechstein

Forellenangler, 1930

Sale Date: June 6, 2014

Auction Closed

Liegender weiblicher Akt, 1910

Max Pechstein

Liegender weiblicher Akt, 1910

Sale Date: June 6, 2014

Auction Closed

Zwei Insulanerinnen mit Kind, 1914

Max Pechstein

Zwei Insulanerinnen mit Kind, 1914

Sale Date: June 6, 2014

Auction Closed

Redner, 1918

Max Pechstein

Redner, 1918

Sale Date: May 30, 2014

Auction Closed

Sitzender weiblicher Akt (+ Reclining female...

Max Pechstein

Sitzender weiblicher Akt (+ Reclining female...

Sale Date: May 31, 2014

Auction Closed

Ein Landsknecht, 1907

Max Pechstein

Ein Landsknecht, 1907

Sale Date: May 30, 2014

Auction Closed

Am Badeplatz, pl. 45 (from Reisebilder...., 1919

Max Pechstein

Am Badeplatz, pl. 45 (from Reisebilder...., 1919

Sale Date: May 30, 2014

Auction Closed

Frauen, pl. 37 (from Reisebilder. Italien –..., 1919

Max Pechstein

Frauen, pl. 37 (from Reisebilder. Italien –..., 1919

Sale Date: May 30, 2014

Auction Closed

Mutter und Kind vor der Düne, 1919

Max Pechstein

Mutter und Kind vor der Düne, 1919

Sale Date: May 30, 2014

Auction Closed

Karneval II, pl. 2 from Karneval), 1910

Max Pechstein

Karneval II, pl. 2 from Karneval), 1910

Sale Date: May 30, 2014

Auction Closed

Karneval VII, pl. 7 from Karneval), 1910

Max Pechstein

Karneval VII, pl. 7 from Karneval), 1910

Sale Date: May 30, 2014

Auction Closed

Tanz II, pl. 2 (from Tanz), 1910

Max Pechstein

Tanz II, pl. 2 (from Tanz), 1910

Sale Date: May 30, 2014

Auction Closed

Netzzieher, 1907

Max Pechstein

Netzzieher, 1907

Sale Date: May 30, 2014

Auction Closed

Tanz VII, pl. 7 (from Tanz), 1910

Max Pechstein

Tanz VII, pl. 7 (from Tanz), 1910

Sale Date: May 30, 2014

Auction Closed

English (US)

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