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)
Fischerhaus auf Nidden, 1920

Max Pechstein

Fischerhaus auf Nidden, 1920

Sale Date: September 21, 2010

Auction Closed

Prinzessin (+ Nach dem bade, smllr; 2..., 1918–1922

Max Pechstein

Prinzessin (+ Nach dem bade, smllr; 2..., 1918–1922

Sale Date: September 15, 2010

Auction Closed

Sitzender Weiblicher Akt, 1909

Max Pechstein

Sitzender Weiblicher Akt, 1909

Sale Date: September 15, 2010

Auction Closed

Runner, 1925

Max Pechstein

Runner, 1925

Sale Date: December 2, 2009

Auction Closed

Segelboote vor der Küste, 1923

Max Pechstein

Segelboote vor der Küste, 1923

Sale Date: August 7, 2010

Auction Closed

Nach dem Bad, 1920–1921

Max Pechstein

Nach dem Bad, 1920–1921

Sale Date: August 7, 2010

Auction Closed

Yali VI (Das kniende Mädchen mit dem Vogel), 1923

Max Pechstein

Yali VI (Das kniende Mädchen mit dem Vogel), 1923

Sale Date: June 18, 2010

Auction Closed

Arme (study), 1904

Max Pechstein

Arme (study), 1904

Sale Date: June 10, 2010

Auction Closed

Blitz in den dünen (Lightning in the dunes), 1919

Max Pechstein

Blitz in den dünen (Lightning in the dunes), 1919

Sale Date: June 23, 2010

Auction Closed

Kopf eines Seemannes (Fischerkopf) (from..., 1922

Max Pechstein

Kopf eines Seemannes (Fischerkopf) (from..., 1922

Sale Date: June 11, 2010

Auction Closed

Der Morgen, pl.1 (from Ein Dorf), 1918

Max Pechstein

Der Morgen, pl.1 (from Ein Dorf), 1918

Sale Date: June 11, 2010

Auction Closed

Akrobaten III (from Die Schaffenden), 1912

Max Pechstein

Akrobaten III (from Die Schaffenden), 1912

Sale Date: June 11, 2010

Auction Closed

Zwei Frauen mit Kleinkind, 1913

Max Pechstein

Zwei Frauen mit Kleinkind, 1913

Sale Date: June 11, 2010

Auction Closed

Gratulanten vor Haus, 1908

Max Pechstein

Gratulanten vor Haus, 1908

Sale Date: June 24, 2010

Auction Closed

Männerporträt, 1918

Max Pechstein

Männerporträt, 1918

Sale Date: June 12, 2010

Auction Closed

Zwiesprache, 1920

Max Pechstein

Zwiesprache, 1920

Sale Date: June 12, 2010

Auction Closed

Das Vater Unser (set of 12), 1921

Max Pechstein

Das Vater Unser (set of 12), 1921

Sale Date: June 11, 2010

Auction Closed

Nach dem Bade, 1912

Max Pechstein

Nach dem Bade, 1912

Sale Date: June 11, 2010

Auction Closed

Am Ufer (from Die Schaffenden), 1920

Max Pechstein

Am Ufer (from Die Schaffenden), 1920

Sale Date: June 12, 2010

Auction Closed

Italien - Südsee (portfolio of 55), 1919

Max Pechstein

Italien - Südsee (portfolio of 55), 1919

Sale Date: June 12, 2010

Auction Closed

Der Redner (from H. M. Pechstein..., 1918

Max Pechstein

Der Redner (from H. M. Pechstein..., 1918

Sale Date: June 12, 2010

Auction Closed

Italienerinnen, 1945

Max Pechstein

Italienerinnen, 1945

Sale Date: June 17, 2010

Auction Closed

Fischerkopf IX, 1921

Max Pechstein

Fischerkopf IX, 1921

Sale Date: June 17, 2010

Auction Closed

Am Dorfeingang, 1918

Max Pechstein

Am Dorfeingang, 1918

Sale Date: June 17, 2010

Auction Closed

English (US)

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