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)
Das kalte Bad, 1928

Max Pechstein

Das kalte Bad, 1928

Sale Date: September 20, 2007

Auction Closed

Spaziergang, 1922

Max Pechstein

Spaziergang, 1922

Sale Date: September 20, 2007

Auction Closed

Maske, 1918

Max Pechstein

Maske, 1918

Sale Date: August 28, 2007

Auction Closed

Stilleben mit afrikanischer Figur, Teekanne..., 1912

Max Pechstein

Stilleben mit afrikanischer Figur, Teekanne..., 1912

Sale Date: September 16, 2007

Auction Closed

Weiblicher Akt und Mann am Strand, 1917

Max Pechstein

Weiblicher Akt und Mann am Strand, 1917

Sale Date: June 22, 2007

Auction Closed

Chrysanthemen, 1937

Max Pechstein

Chrysanthemen, 1937

Sale Date: June 12, 2007

Auction Closed

Fluss-Spiegelungen - Bodetal, 1938

Max Pechstein

Fluss-Spiegelungen - Bodetal, 1938

Sale Date: June 12, 2007

Auction Closed

In der Kneipe, 1924

Max Pechstein

In der Kneipe, 1924

Sale Date: June 12, 2007

Auction Closed

Fischer im Boot, 1927

Max Pechstein

Fischer im Boot, 1927

Sale Date: June 12, 2007

Auction Closed

Rauchender Schweizer, 1923

Max Pechstein

Rauchender Schweizer, 1923

Sale Date: June 12, 2007

Auction Closed

Fischer im Boot, 1924

Max Pechstein

Fischer im Boot, 1924

Sale Date: June 19, 2007

Auction Closed

Stilleben am Spiegel - Clivia, Obst und Krug, 1917

Max Pechstein

Stilleben am Spiegel - Clivia, Obst und Krug, 1917

Sale Date: June 18, 2007

Auction Closed

Das rote Teeservice, 1916

Max Pechstein

Das rote Teeservice, 1916

Sale Date: June 18, 2007

Auction Closed

Chiemseelandschaft, 1947

Max Pechstein

Chiemseelandschaft, 1947

Sale Date: June 19, 2007

Auction Closed

Am Strand, 1922

Max Pechstein

Am Strand, 1922

Sale Date: June 14, 2007

Auction Closed

Und führe uns nicht in Versuchung, pl. VIII..., 1921

Max Pechstein

Und führe uns nicht in Versuchung, pl. VIII..., 1921

Sale Date: June 14, 2007

Auction Closed

Das Vater Unser (portfolio of 12 w/colophon), 1921

Max Pechstein

Das Vater Unser (portfolio of 12 w/colophon), 1921

Sale Date: June 14, 2007

Auction Closed

Vergrämt, 1920

Max Pechstein

Vergrämt, 1920

Sale Date: June 14, 2007

Auction Closed

Vergrämt, 1920

Max Pechstein

Vergrämt, 1920

Sale Date: June 14, 2007

Auction Closed

Hirte, 1910

Max Pechstein

Hirte, 1910

Sale Date: June 14, 2007

Auction Closed

Still life, 1923

Max Pechstein

Still life, 1923

Sale Date: June 13, 2007

Auction Closed

Wartende, 1946

Max Pechstein

Wartende, 1946

Sale Date: June 9, 2007

Auction Closed

Hafen (auf Fehmarn), 1920

Max Pechstein

Hafen (auf Fehmarn), 1920

Sale Date: June 9, 2007

Auction Closed

Kurenkähne in schwerer See, 1948

Max Pechstein

Kurenkähne in schwerer See, 1948

Sale Date: June 9, 2007

Auction Closed

English (US)

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