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)
Klönende Fischer, 1923

Max Pechstein

Klönende Fischer, 1923

Sale Date: November 29, 2008

Auction Closed

Tänzerin im Spiegel, 1923

Max Pechstein

Tänzerin im Spiegel, 1923

Sale Date: November 29, 2008

Auction Closed

Drei Akte - Palau, 1930

Max Pechstein

Drei Akte - Palau, 1930

Sale Date: November 29, 2008

Auction Closed

Sitzender akt, 1917

Max Pechstein

Sitzender akt, 1917

Sale Date: November 29, 2008

Auction Closed

Kutter in der Brandung, 1922

Max Pechstein

Kutter in der Brandung, 1922

Sale Date: November 29, 2008

Auction Closed

Brücke - Angler unter der Brücke, 1913

Max Pechstein

Brücke - Angler unter der Brücke, 1913

Sale Date: November 29, 2008

Auction Closed

Kühe auf der Weide, 1923

Max Pechstein

Kühe auf der Weide, 1923

Sale Date: November 29, 2008

Auction Closed

Schiffe im Hafen, 1920

Max Pechstein

Schiffe im Hafen, 1920

Sale Date: November 29, 2008

Auction Closed

Boote in der Brandung, 1949

Max Pechstein

Boote in der Brandung, 1949

Sale Date: November 29, 2008

Auction Closed

Eingeborene im Auslegerboot - Palau, 1914

Max Pechstein

Eingeborene im Auslegerboot - Palau, 1914

Sale Date: November 29, 2008

Auction Closed

Hockende Eingeborene - Palau, 1914

Max Pechstein

Hockende Eingeborene - Palau, 1914

Sale Date: November 29, 2008

Auction Closed

Mutter und Sohn, 1945

Max Pechstein

Mutter und Sohn, 1945

Sale Date: December 4, 2008

Auction Closed

Boulespieler, pl.24 (from Reisebilder...., 1919

Max Pechstein

Boulespieler, pl.24 (from Reisebilder...., 1919

Sale Date: December 4, 2008

Auction Closed

Dolorosa, pl.VII (from Köpfe), 1917

Max Pechstein

Dolorosa, pl.VII (from Köpfe), 1917

Sale Date: December 4, 2008

Auction Closed

Angler, pl.7 (from Italienische Fischer), 1917

Max Pechstein

Angler, pl.7 (from Italienische Fischer), 1917

Sale Date: December 4, 2008

Auction Closed

Seated nude, 1911

Max Pechstein

Seated nude, 1911

Sale Date: December 3, 2008

Auction Closed

Sonnenblumen, 1931

Max Pechstein

Sonnenblumen, 1931

Sale Date: November 28, 2008

Auction Closed

Am Ufer, 1920

Max Pechstein

Am Ufer, 1920

Sale Date: November 13, 2008

Auction Closed

Am Dorfeingang, pl. VI (from Ein Dorf), 1919

Max Pechstein

Am Dorfeingang, pl. VI (from Ein Dorf), 1919

Sale Date: November 13, 2008

Auction Closed

Dorfstrasse, pl. V (from Ein Dorf), 1919

Max Pechstein

Dorfstrasse, pl. V (from Ein Dorf), 1919

Sale Date: November 13, 2008

Auction Closed

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

Max Pechstein

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

Sale Date: November 13, 2008

Auction Closed

Mondschein, 1922

Max Pechstein

Mondschein, 1922

Sale Date: November 8, 2008

Auction Closed

Ein Friese, 1922

Max Pechstein

Ein Friese, 1922

Sale Date: November 19, 2008

Auction Closed

Vergrämt - Nu masculin assis, 1920

Max Pechstein

Vergrämt - Nu masculin assis, 1920

Sale Date: November 16, 2008

Auction Closed

English (US)

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