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)
Blumen, Flasche und Spiegel, 1918

Max Pechstein

Blumen, Flasche und Spiegel, 1918

Sale Date: October 25, 2008

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel (from Reisebilder), 1919

Max Pechstein

Ohne Titel (from Reisebilder), 1919

Sale Date: September 18, 2008

Auction Closed

Exotische köpfe (set of 6, + a drawing of a..., 1918

Max Pechstein

Exotische köpfe (set of 6, + a drawing of a..., 1918

Sale Date: October 1, 2008

Auction Closed

Die National=Versammlung der Grundstein der..., 1919

Max Pechstein

Die National=Versammlung der Grundstein der..., 1919

Sale Date: September 27, 2008

Auction Closed

Komposition (from Die Schaffenden), 1918

Max Pechstein

Komposition (from Die Schaffenden), 1918

Sale Date: September 27, 2008

Auction Closed

Kahnrichten I, 1923

Max Pechstein

Kahnrichten I, 1923

Sale Date: September 18, 2008

Auction Closed

Grauer tag

Max Pechstein

Grauer tag

Sale Date: September 7, 2008

Auction Closed

Nudes

Max Pechstein

Nudes

Sale Date: September 7, 2008

Auction Closed

Blumenstilleben mit Chrysanthemen, 1937

Max Pechstein

Blumenstilleben mit Chrysanthemen, 1937

Sale Date: July 5, 2008

Auction Closed

Luganer See (from Reisebilder,..., 1919

Max Pechstein

Luganer See (from Reisebilder,..., 1919

Sale Date: June 24, 2008

Auction Closed

Bauernhäuser mit Getreidefeld in Leba, 1922

Max Pechstein

Bauernhäuser mit Getreidefeld in Leba, 1922

Sale Date: June 26, 2008

Auction Closed

Malven I, 1919

Max Pechstein

Malven I, 1919

Sale Date: June 26, 2008

Auction Closed

Landschaft mit Häusern (Landscape with houses), 1918

Max Pechstein

Landschaft mit Häusern (Landscape with houses), 1918

Sale Date: June 26, 2008

Auction Closed

Rauchender Schweizer, 1923

Max Pechstein

Rauchender Schweizer, 1923

Sale Date: June 13, 2008

Auction Closed

Stilleben mit Kalla in Westerwälder Krug, 1923

Max Pechstein

Stilleben mit Kalla in Westerwälder Krug, 1923

Sale Date: June 13, 2008

Auction Closed

Nach dem Bade, 1923

Max Pechstein

Nach dem Bade, 1923

Sale Date: June 13, 2008

Auction Closed

Bildnis Dr. Paul Fechter, rauchend, 1919

Max Pechstein

Bildnis Dr. Paul Fechter, rauchend, 1919

Sale Date: June 13, 2008

Auction Closed

Monte Rosso, 1913

Max Pechstein

Monte Rosso, 1913

Sale Date: June 13, 2008

Auction Closed

Zwiesprache

Max Pechstein

Zwiesprache

Sale Date: May 29, 2008

Auction Closed

Morgen (Javanische Köpfe), 1919

Max Pechstein

Morgen (Javanische Köpfe), 1919

Sale Date: May 29, 2008

Auction Closed

Charlotte Pechstein mit Spiegel, 1917

Max Pechstein

Charlotte Pechstein mit Spiegel, 1917

Sale Date: May 29, 2008

Auction Closed

Auf dem Lager, 1947

Max Pechstein

Auf dem Lager, 1947

Sale Date: May 29, 2008

Auction Closed

Wartende, 1946

Max Pechstein

Wartende, 1946

Sale Date: May 29, 2008

Auction Closed

Italienerinnen, 1945

Max Pechstein

Italienerinnen, 1945

Sale Date: May 29, 2008

Auction Closed

English (US)

©2024 Artnet Worldwide Corporation. All rights reserved.