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)
Werbung, pl. 1, 1947

Max Pechstein

Werbung, pl. 1, 1947

Sale Date: May 24, 2007

Auction Closed

Luganer See, pl. 2 (+ 9 others; 10 works..., 1919

Max Pechstein

Luganer See, pl. 2 (+ 9 others; 10 works..., 1919

Sale Date: May 5, 2007

Auction Closed

Weib vom Manne begehrt, 1919

Max Pechstein

Weib vom Manne begehrt, 1919

Sale Date: May 5, 2007

Auction Closed

Redner, pl. 1 (from H. M. Pechstein..., 1919

Max Pechstein

Redner, pl. 1 (from H. M. Pechstein..., 1919

Sale Date: May 5, 2007

Auction Closed

Der Säugling, 1917

Max Pechstein

Der Säugling, 1917

Sale Date: May 5, 2007

Auction Closed

Das Vater Unser - Holzschnitte von HM..., 1921

Max Pechstein

Das Vater Unser - Holzschnitte von HM..., 1921

Sale Date: May 7, 2007

Auction Closed

Kopf eines Seemannes, 1922

Max Pechstein

Kopf eines Seemannes, 1922

Sale Date: May 2, 2007

Auction Closed

Mädchenbildnisse IX (+ Das Vater Unser XII;..., 1917

Max Pechstein

Mädchenbildnisse IX (+ Das Vater Unser XII;..., 1917

Sale Date: May 3, 2007

Auction Closed

Welle I, 1912

Max Pechstein

Welle I, 1912

Sale Date: April 26, 2007

Auction Closed

Badende, 1947

Max Pechstein

Badende, 1947

Sale Date: April 28, 2007

Auction Closed

Das kalte Bad, 1928

Max Pechstein

Das kalte Bad, 1928

Sale Date: March 24, 2007

Auction Closed

Kurenkähne in schwerer See, 1948

Max Pechstein

Kurenkähne in schwerer See, 1948

Sale Date: March 30, 2007

Auction Closed

Reisebilder. Italien - Südsee (2 works), 1919

Max Pechstein

Reisebilder. Italien - Südsee (2 works), 1919

Sale Date: March 30, 2007

Auction Closed

Willy Seidel, Yali und sein weisses Weib (2..., 1923

Max Pechstein

Willy Seidel, Yali und sein weisses Weib (2..., 1923

Sale Date: March 30, 2007

Auction Closed

Am Strand, 1922

Max Pechstein

Am Strand, 1922

Sale Date: March 30, 2007

Auction Closed

Porträt, 1950–1959

Max Pechstein

Porträt, 1950–1959

Sale Date: March 30, 2007

Auction Closed

Zwei Akte mit Vogel, 1948

Max Pechstein

Zwei Akte mit Vogel, 1948

Sale Date: March 30, 2007

Auction Closed

Brandung auf Felsen, 1913

Max Pechstein

Brandung auf Felsen, 1913

Sale Date: March 30, 2007

Auction Closed

Keitelkähne, 1909

Max Pechstein

Keitelkähne, 1909

Sale Date: March 30, 2007

Auction Closed

Im harem, 1909

Max Pechstein

Im harem, 1909

Sale Date: March 27, 2007

Auction Closed

Der Tanz (Tanzende und Badende am Waldteich), 1912

Max Pechstein

Der Tanz (Tanzende und Badende am Waldteich), 1912

Sale Date: March 27, 2007

Auction Closed

Nach dem Bad, 1920

Max Pechstein

Nach dem Bad, 1920

Sale Date: March 28, 2007

Auction Closed

Somme 1916 - Auf Posten, 1918

Max Pechstein

Somme 1916 - Auf Posten, 1918

Sale Date: March 28, 2007

Auction Closed

Zwei Fischer mit Netz, 1923

Max Pechstein

Zwei Fischer mit Netz, 1923

Sale Date: March 6, 2007

Auction Closed

English (US)

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