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)
Chansonette, 1909

Max Pechstein

Chansonette, 1909

Sale Date: May 30, 2014

Auction Closed

Mutter und Kind, 1913

Max Pechstein

Mutter und Kind, 1913

Sale Date: May 30, 2014

Auction Closed

Entsagung, 1908

Max Pechstein

Entsagung, 1908

Sale Date: May 30, 2014

Auction Closed

Kind auf der Bank, 1908

Max Pechstein

Kind auf der Bank, 1908

Sale Date: May 30, 2014

Auction Closed

Ein Friese, 1923

Max Pechstein

Ein Friese, 1923

Sale Date: May 31, 2014

Auction Closed

Der Kritiker (Dr. Paul Fechter), 1921

Max Pechstein

Der Kritiker (Dr. Paul Fechter), 1921

Sale Date: May 31, 2014

Auction Closed

Der Abend, pl. 3 (from Ein Dorf), 1919

Max Pechstein

Der Abend, pl. 3 (from Ein Dorf), 1919

Sale Date: May 31, 2014

Auction Closed

Fischerkopf VII, 1911

Max Pechstein

Fischerkopf VII, 1911

Sale Date: May 31, 2014

Auction Closed

Am Lebaausfluss, 1934

Max Pechstein

Am Lebaausfluss, 1934

Sale Date: May 31, 2014

Auction Closed

Skizze an der ligurischen Küste, 1924

Max Pechstein

Skizze an der ligurischen Küste, 1924

Sale Date: May 22, 2014

Auction Closed

Reisebilder. Italien - Südsee (bk w/50..., 1913–1914

Max Pechstein

Reisebilder. Italien - Südsee (bk w/50..., 1913–1914

Sale Date: May 10, 2014

Auction Closed

Yali V (Gewitter). Blatt 5 zu W. Seidel,..., 1923

Max Pechstein

Yali V (Gewitter). Blatt 5 zu W. Seidel,..., 1923

Sale Date: May 10, 2014

Auction Closed

Brandungswelle (from Boettcher-Mappe), 1948

Max Pechstein

Brandungswelle (from Boettcher-Mappe), 1948

Sale Date: May 6, 2014

Auction Closed

Nach dem bad, 1920

Max Pechstein

Nach dem bad, 1920

Sale Date: April 29, 2014

Auction Closed

Sitzender Akt, 1918

Max Pechstein

Sitzender Akt, 1918

Sale Date: May 3, 2014

Auction Closed

Heilige Familie, 1913

Max Pechstein

Heilige Familie, 1913

Sale Date: March 29, 2014

Auction Closed

JOCKEI, 1910

Max Pechstein

JOCKEI, 1910

Sale Date: March 15, 2014

Auction Closed

Auf dem Lager - Two lying Persons, 1947

Max Pechstein

Auf dem Lager - Two lying Persons, 1947

Sale Date: March 1, 2014

Auction Closed

Yali II (Die Ona und das weiße Mädchen), 1923

Max Pechstein

Yali II (Die Ona und das weiße Mädchen), 1923

Sale Date: March 8, 2014

Auction Closed

Yali VIII (Das weiße Weib mit den farbigen..., 1923

Max Pechstein

Yali VIII (Das weiße Weib mit den farbigen..., 1923

Sale Date: March 8, 2014

Auction Closed

Maske, published in the Almanach auf das..., 1918

Max Pechstein

Maske, published in the Almanach auf das..., 1918

Sale Date: February 7, 2014

Auction Closed

Heckenrosen in einem Gefäß, 1943

Max Pechstein

Heckenrosen in einem Gefäß, 1943

Sale Date: December 4, 2013

Auction Closed

Kinderbildnis I (Frank), 1918

Max Pechstein

Kinderbildnis I (Frank), 1918

Sale Date: December 4, 2013

Auction Closed

Sitzender weiblicher Akt, 1910

Max Pechstein

Sitzender weiblicher Akt, 1910

Sale Date: December 4, 2013

Auction Closed

English (US)

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