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)
Kuren, 1920

Max Pechstein

Kuren, 1920

Sale Date: June 7, 2013

Auction Closed

Zwiesprache, 1920

Max Pechstein

Zwiesprache, 1920

Sale Date: June 7, 2013

Auction Closed

Kühe auf der Weide, 1923

Max Pechstein

Kühe auf der Weide, 1923

Sale Date: June 1, 2013

Auction Closed

Klönende Fischer, 1923

Max Pechstein

Klönende Fischer, 1923

Sale Date: June 1, 2013

Auction Closed

Nacht, pl. 3 (from Köpfe), 1917

Max Pechstein

Nacht, pl. 3 (from Köpfe), 1917

Sale Date: June 1, 2013

Auction Closed

Yali I (Das Findelkind) (+ Yali VII (Gewitter);...

Max Pechstein

Yali I (Das Findelkind) (+ Yali VII (Gewitter);...

Sale Date: June 1, 2013

Auction Closed

Verwundeter, 1917

Max Pechstein

Verwundeter, 1917

Sale Date: May 25, 2013

Auction Closed

Yali IV (Yalis Werbung) (from Willy Seidel:..., 1923

Max Pechstein

Yali IV (Yalis Werbung) (from Willy Seidel:..., 1923

Sale Date: May 27, 2013

Auction Closed

Pommersche Fischer, 1923

Max Pechstein

Pommersche Fischer, 1923

Sale Date: May 17, 2013

Auction Closed

Ein Friese, 1923

Max Pechstein

Ein Friese, 1923

Sale Date: June 1, 2013

Auction Closed

Mädchenkopf, 1911

Max Pechstein

Mädchenkopf, 1911

Sale Date: June 1, 2013

Auction Closed

Erlegung des Festbratens, 1911

Max Pechstein

Erlegung des Festbratens, 1911

Sale Date: June 1, 2013

Auction Closed

Frauenporträt, 1925

Max Pechstein

Frauenporträt, 1925

Sale Date: June 1, 2013

Auction Closed

Kartoffelernte I, 1930

Max Pechstein

Kartoffelernte I, 1930

Sale Date: May 31, 2013

Auction Closed

Forellenangler 5, 1929

Max Pechstein

Forellenangler 5, 1929

Sale Date: May 31, 2013

Auction Closed

Durchbrechende Wintersonne, 1922

Max Pechstein

Durchbrechende Wintersonne, 1922

Sale Date: May 30, 2013

Auction Closed

Krankes Mädchen, 1918

Max Pechstein

Krankes Mädchen, 1918

Sale Date: May 25, 2013

Auction Closed

Pechstein mit Staffelerei, 1924

Max Pechstein

Pechstein mit Staffelerei, 1924

Sale Date: May 29, 2013

Auction Closed

Seated nude, 1914

Max Pechstein

Seated nude, 1914

Sale Date: May 29, 2013

Auction Closed

Brandungswelle, 1948

Max Pechstein

Brandungswelle, 1948

Sale Date: May 17, 2013

Auction Closed

Pechstein-Ausstellung, 1946

Max Pechstein

Pechstein-Ausstellung, 1946

Sale Date: May 13, 2013

Auction Closed

HM Pechstein und Rudolf Belling Buch III der , 1921

Max Pechstein

HM Pechstein und Rudolf Belling Buch III der , 1921

Sale Date: May 13, 2013

Auction Closed

Italienerinnen, 1945

Max Pechstein

Italienerinnen, 1945

Sale Date: April 25, 2013

Auction Closed

Kopf eines Seemannes (Fischerkopf), 1922

Max Pechstein

Kopf eines Seemannes (Fischerkopf), 1922

Sale Date: April 25, 2013

Auction Closed

English (US)

©2024 Artnet Worldwide Corporation. All rights reserved.