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)
Erlegung des Festbratens, 1911

Max Pechstein

Erlegung des Festbratens, 1911

Sale Date: June 9, 2007

Auction Closed

Lotte, 1921

Max Pechstein

Lotte, 1921

Sale Date: June 9, 2007

Auction Closed

Fischer mit Pfeife, 1922

Max Pechstein

Fischer mit Pfeife, 1922

Sale Date: June 9, 2007

Auction Closed

Tänzerin im Spiegel

Max Pechstein

Tänzerin im Spiegel

Sale Date: June 1, 2007

Auction Closed

Kauernder Akt, 1908

Max Pechstein

Kauernder Akt, 1908

Sale Date: June 1, 2007

Auction Closed

Herbstmeer, 1933

Max Pechstein

Herbstmeer, 1933

Sale Date: June 9, 2007

Auction Closed

Liegende, 1923

Max Pechstein

Liegende, 1923

Sale Date: June 9, 2007

Auction Closed

Frau mit Kopftuch, 1922

Max Pechstein

Frau mit Kopftuch, 1922

Sale Date: June 9, 2007

Auction Closed

Stilleben mit Obstschale, 1921–1922

Max Pechstein

Stilleben mit Obstschale, 1921–1922

Sale Date: June 9, 2007

Auction Closed

Das Vater Unser (portfolio of 12 w/title pg.), 1921

Max Pechstein

Das Vater Unser (portfolio of 12 w/title pg.), 1921

Sale Date: June 1, 2007

Auction Closed

Fischerkopf, 1922

Max Pechstein

Fischerkopf, 1922

Sale Date: June 1, 2007

Auction Closed

Badende mit Kind, 1920

Max Pechstein

Badende mit Kind, 1920

Sale Date: June 1, 2007

Auction Closed

Akrobaten III, 1912

Max Pechstein

Akrobaten III, 1912

Sale Date: June 1, 2007

Auction Closed

Fischerkopf, pl. 11 (from Fischerköpfe), 1911

Max Pechstein

Fischerkopf, pl. 11 (from Fischerköpfe), 1911

Sale Date: June 1, 2007

Auction Closed

Stilleben mit Kalla in Westerwälder Krug, 1923

Max Pechstein

Stilleben mit Kalla in Westerwälder Krug, 1923

Sale Date: June 1, 2007

Auction Closed

Fischfang, pl. 3 (from Italienische Fischer), 1917

Max Pechstein

Fischfang, pl. 3 (from Italienische Fischer), 1917

Sale Date: June 1, 2007

Auction Closed

Stehender weiblicher Akt, 1909

Max Pechstein

Stehender weiblicher Akt, 1909

Sale Date: June 1, 2007

Auction Closed

Netzeeinholen, 1922

Max Pechstein

Netzeeinholen, 1922

Sale Date: June 1, 2007

Auction Closed

Kopf

Max Pechstein

Kopf

Sale Date: June 1, 2007

Auction Closed

Am Genfer See (postcard), 1922

Max Pechstein

Am Genfer See (postcard), 1922

Sale Date: June 1, 2007

Auction Closed

Das Vater Unser (portfolio of 12), 1921

Max Pechstein

Das Vater Unser (portfolio of 12), 1921

Sale Date: May 25, 2007

Auction Closed

Bildnis Dr. Paul Fechter (Rauchend), 1919

Max Pechstein

Bildnis Dr. Paul Fechter (Rauchend), 1919

Sale Date: May 25, 2007

Auction Closed

Heuernte, 1931

Max Pechstein

Heuernte, 1931

Sale Date: May 29, 2007

Auction Closed

Selbstbildnis, pl. 4, 1948

Max Pechstein

Selbstbildnis, pl. 4, 1948

Sale Date: May 24, 2007

Auction Closed

English (US)

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