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Max Pechstein Art

German, 1881-1955

Pechstein was born in Zwickau, the son of a craftsman who worked in a textile mill. Early contact with the art of Vincent van Gogh stimulated Pechstein's development toward expressionism. After studying art first at the School of Applied Arts and then at the Royal Art Academy in Dresden, Pechstein met Erich Heckel and joined the art group Die Brucke in 1906. He was the only member to have formal art training. Later in Berlin, he helped to found the Neue Sezession and gained recognition for his decorative and colorful paintings that were lent from the ideas of Van Gogh, Matisse, and the Fauves. His paintings eventually became more primitivist, incorporating thick black lines and angular figures.

From 1933, Pechstein was vilified by the Nazis because of his art. A total of 326 of his paintings were removed from German museums. Sixteen of his works were displayed in the Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art) exhibition of 1937. During this time, Pechstein went into seclusion in rural Pomerania. He was a prolific printmaker, producing 421 lithographs, 315 woodcuts and linocuts, and 165 intaglio prints, mostly etchings. Pechstein was a professor at the Berlin Academy for ten years before his dismissal by the Nazis in 1933. He was reinstated in 1945, and subsequently won numerous titles and awards for his work. He died in West Berlin. He is buried on the Evangelischer Friedhof Alt-Schmargendorf in Berlin.

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Artist: Max Pechstein
"Woman Desired by Man" original woodcut
"Woman Desired by Man" original woodcut

"Woman Desired by Man" original woodcut

By Max Pechstein

Located in Henderson, NV

Medium: original woodcut. Printed in 1920 for the Deutsche Graphiker der Gegenwart portfolio, and published in Leipzig by Klinkhardt & Biermann in an edition of 500. Catalogue refere...

Category

1920s Expressionist Max Pechstein Art

Materials

Woodcut

Alte Fischerhutten - Expressionist Oil Painting of Fisherman’s Village, 1949
Alte Fischerhutten - Expressionist Oil Painting of Fisherman’s Village, 1949

Alte Fischerhutten - Expressionist Oil Painting of Fisherman’s Village, 1949

By Max Pechstein

Located in Palm Desert, CA

Alte Fischerhütten (1949) by Max Pechstein is an oil on canvas in which the artist transforms a humble cluster of weathered fishing huts into a study of light, form, and atmosphere. Broad, rhythmic brushstrokes delineate the worn timbers and thatched roofs, while a sky streaked with lavender and rose imbues the scene with a quiet, almost meditative luminosity. Pechstein's bold outlines and flattened perspective are tempered by a late-career restraint, allowing the simple geometry of dunes, huts, and sea to resonate with an almost timeless calm. The artwork is signed lower right, "HMPechstein 1949" and signed verso, "Alte Fischerhütten 1949 HMPechstein” Provenance: Private Collection, Europe Lempertz, Cologne, June 15, 1966, lot 531 Selected Artists Galleries, New York, acquired by 1970 Private Collection, New York, acquired from the above Private Collection, by descent from above Phillips, New York, Wednesday, November 15, 2023, lot 123 Private Collection, acquired from the above Literature: Aya Soika, Max Pechstein The Catalgoue raisonne of oil paintings, Volume II 1919–1954, Munich, 2011, no. 1949/12, p. 490, illustrated Hermann Max Pechstein was born on December 31, 1881, in Zwickau, into a working-class family headed by his father, a textile-mill craftsman. Drawn to art early on, he apprenticed as a decorative painter from 1896 to 1900 before enrolling at Dresden’s School of Applied Arts and, from 1902, studying under Otto Gussmann at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. His academic grounding—unique among his future peers—laid a solid foundation for the bold, expressive work that would follow. In 1906 Erich Heckel invited Pechstein to join Die Brücke, the pioneering Expressionist collective, and he quickly became one of its most active members. Exposure to ethnographic wood carvings in Dresden in 1905 spurred his first woodcuts, and travels to Italy (1907) and Paris (1908)—where he befriended the Fauvist Kees van Dongen—expanded his palette and compositional daring. After relocating to Berlin in 1908, he co-founded the New Secession in 1910, serving as its chairman and gaining acclaim for richly colored prints inspired by Van Gogh, Matisse, and the Fauves. With the outbreak of World War I, Pechstein’s peripatetic life took him from internment in Japan to service on the Western Front in 1916. In the revolution’s aftermath, he aligned with radical socialist art...

Category

Mid-20th Century Expressionist Max Pechstein Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Small Steamers 1911, colour woodcut Signed German Expressionist
Small Steamers 1911, colour woodcut Signed German Expressionist

Small Steamers 1911, colour woodcut Signed German Expressionist

By Max Pechstein

Located in Eltville am Rhein, DE

Hermann Max Pechstein Zwickau 1881 - 1955 Berlin Kleine Dampfer 1911 / Small Steamboats, 1911 Colour woodcut on yellow-greenish clay printing plate on vellum Signed and dated in penc...

Category

1910s Brücke Max Pechstein Art

Materials

Woodcut

Return of the Fishermen - Fishermen German Expressionism
Return of the Fishermen - Fishermen German Expressionism

Return of the Fishermen - Fishermen German Expressionism

By Max Pechstein

Located in London, GB

This chalk drawing is signed and dated in pencil by the artist "HMP 1931" in the lower right image. Note: The drawing was created in the region of Pomerania, Northern Poland, near t...

Category

1930s Expressionist Max Pechstein Art

Materials

Chalk

Frau und Mädchen (Woman and Girl) /// Max Pechstein German Expressionist Litho
Frau und Mädchen (Woman and Girl) /// Max Pechstein German Expressionist Litho

Frau und Mädchen (Woman and Girl) /// Max Pechstein German Expressionist Litho

By Max Pechstein

Located in Saint Augustine, FL

Artist: Hermann Max Pechstein (German, 1881-1955) Title: "Frau und Mädchen (Woman and Girl)" Portfolio: Paraphrasen zur Samländischen Ode (Paraphrases of the Samland Ode) *Signed and...

Category

1910s Expressionist Max Pechstein Art

Materials

Lithograph

DER SCHATTEN II - Rich Drypoint - 1st State
DER SCHATTEN II - Rich Drypoint - 1st State

DER SCHATTEN II - Rich Drypoint - 1st State

By Max Pechstein

Located in Santa Monica, CA

MAX PECHSTEIN (1881 -1955) DER SCHATTEN II 1918 (Knupp 79, Fecher 143 I/ii) Rich drypoint, signed and annotated, FIRST STATE. Image: 8 1/4 x 6 inches on japan paper; 15 x 11 1/4 i...

Category

1910s Expressionist Max Pechstein Art

Materials

Drypoint

NACH DEM BAD (AFTER THE BATH)
NACH DEM BAD (AFTER THE BATH)

NACH DEM BAD (AFTER THE BATH)

By Max Pechstein

Located in Portland, ME

Pechstein, Hermann Max (German, 1881-1955): NACH DEM BAD (AFTER THE BATH). Krueger R 118. Etching and drypoint, 1920. Signed in pencil. Published by Die Schaffenden...

Category

1920s Max Pechstein Art

Materials

Drypoint, Etching

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Previously Available Items
Zwiesprache - Original Woodcut Print by Max Pechstein - 1918
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Located in Roma, IT

Der Schatten II (Johannes Teuber sitzende ) is an original etching and drypoint, realized by Max Pechstein in 1918, signed and dated. Edition of 200 prints. Included a frame. In very good conditions. The artwork represents an old man seated in a bench with a flower fallen on the ground and his head bend toward the back as he is dreaming, in the background there is a nude dancing woman here the artwork represents skillful Expressionistic style of expression with strong lines and color. Max Pechstein (Zwickau, 1881- Berlin, 1955), German Expressionist painter and printmaker, Max Pechstein is known above all for his boldly colored nudes and landscapes. Primarily working in the Impressionist tradition, after joining the group of the Die Brücke together with E.L. Kirchner and H. Heckle, he began painting in a vibrant Fauvist palette. In a similar way as Gauguin, Pechstein was influenced by primitive art of other cultures after visiting the Dresden Ethnographical Museum. When the artist traveled to Italy (1907) he was struck by Giotto’s paintings...

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By Max Pechstein

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Artist: Hermann Max Pechstein (German, 1881-1955) Title: "Weib Vom Manne Begehrt (Woman Desired by Man)" Portfolio: Deutsche Grapiker der Gegenwart (German Printmakers of Our Time) *Unsigned edition Year: 1919, (published 1920) Medium: Original Woodcut Engraving on cream wove paper Limited edition: 500, (there was also a signed and numbered edition of 30) Printer: Unknown Publisher: Klinkhardt & Biermann, Leipzig, Germany Reference: "Das Graphische Werk Max Pechsteins" - Krüger No. 224; Fechter No. 157; Rifkind No. 2252; Söhn I, page 108-114 Framing: Recently beautifully framed in a modern gold moulding with 100% cotton rag matting and Museum Glass Framed size: 19.69" x 16.13" Sheet size: 12.75" x 9.5" Image size: 9.88" x 6.25" Condition: One small skillfully repaired tear lower left in margin. It is otherwise a strong impression in excellent condition Notes: Provenance: private collection - Kiel, Germany. Comes from the 1920 "Deutsche Grapiker der Gegenwart (German Printmakers of Our Time)" portfolio of fifteen lithographs, eight woodcuts, eight reproductions, and one lithographed cover by various artists. The artists who contributed to this portfolio were George Grosz, Ernst Barlach, Lovis Corinth, Richard Seewald, Heinrich Campendonk, Erich Heckel, Otto Mueller, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Lyonel Feininger, Conrad Felixmüller, Max Unold, Karl Caspar, Max Lieberman, René Beeh, Adolf Ferdinand Schinnerer, Ludwig Meidner, Max Beckmann, Richard Seewald, Käthe Kollwitz, August Gaul, Rudolf Grossman, Alfred Kubin, and Paul Klee. This very same work is within many permanent museum collections including the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY. "Deutsche Graphiker der Gegenwart (German Printmakers of Our Time)" brings together woodcuts, lithographs, and reproductions by thirty-one artists representing a cross-section of styles from Impressionism to Expressionism, uniting under a single cover works ranging from naturalistic self-portraits to left-wing political caricatures. It features works by artists associated with the Berlin Secession (an exhibiting society comprised primarily of German Impressionists), with Expressionist groups like the Brücke and Der Blaue Reiter, and with the political Novembergruppe, as well as artists like Max Beckmann who were not affliliated with any group. In his introduction, art historian Kurt Pfister identified Expressionism as the leading force in German art at the time, while stressing the plurality of approaches to style and subject matter that the movement encompassed. Pfister emphasized the openness of German artists to foreign sources, and cited the importance of Paul Cézanne, Edvard Munch, and Pablo Picasso as well as Japanese, Indian, African, and Gothic art for the development of German art. There was a fifty-year difference in age between the oldest artist, Max Liebermann, and the youngest, Conrad Felixmüller, featured in the collection. The volume also included Lyonel Feininger, an American who had lived in Germany since 1896, as well as Austrian artists Oskar Kokoschka and Alfred Kubin. Biography: Pechstein was born in Zwickau, the son of a craftsman who worked in a textile mill. Early contact with the art of Vincent van Gogh stimulated Pechstein's development toward expressionism. After studying art first at the School of Applied Arts and then at the Royal Art Academy in Dresden, Pechstein met Erich Heckel and joined the art group Die Bru¨cke in 1906. He was the only member to have formal art training. Later in Berlin, he helped to found the Neue Sezession and gained recognition for his decorative and colorful paintings that were lent from the ideas of Van Gogh, Matisse, and the Fauves. His paintings eventually became more primitivist, incorporating thick black lines and angular figures. From in 1933, Pechstein was vilified by the Nazis because of his art. A total of 326 of his paintings were removed from German museums. Sixteen of his works were displayed in the Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art...

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1920s Expressionist Max Pechstein Art

Materials

Engraving, Woodcut

Two Heads
Two Heads

Max PechsteinTwo Heads, 1922

Sold

H 7.13 in W 5 in

Two Heads

By Max Pechstein

Located in New York, NY

Max Pechstein (1881-1955), Two Heads (Zwei Kopfe), woodcut, 1922, signed in pencil lower right. Reference: Kruger 275. From the edition of 50. In very good ...

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Dialogue, from: HM Pechstein Woodcuts  Zwiesprache: HM Pechstein Holzschnitte
Dialogue, from: HM Pechstein Woodcuts  Zwiesprache: HM Pechstein Holzschnitte

Dialogue, from: HM Pechstein Woodcuts Zwiesprache: HM Pechstein Holzschnitte

By Max Pechstein

Located in London, GB

HERMANN MAX PECHSTEIN 1881-1955 Zwickau 1881 - 1955 Berlin (German) Title: Dialogue, from: HM Pechstein Woodcuts Zwiesprache: HM Pechstein Holzschnitte, 1918 Technique: Original H...

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1910s Max Pechstein Art

Materials

Woodcut

"Head of a Boy/Kopf des Jungen, " Original Woodcut signed by Max Pechstein
"Head of a Boy/Kopf des Jungen, " Original Woodcut signed by Max Pechstein

"Head of a Boy/Kopf des Jungen, " Original Woodcut signed by Max Pechstein

By Max Pechstein

Located in Milwaukee, WI

"Head of a Boy/Kopf des Jungen" is an original woodcut print by Max Pechstein. The artist signed the piece lower right and wrote the edition number (V/XX) in the lower left. This pie...

Category

Early 20th Century Expressionist Max Pechstein Art

Materials

Woodcut

FIVE NATIVE WOMEN
FIVE NATIVE WOMEN

FIVE NATIVE WOMEN

By Max Pechstein

Located in Santa Monica, CA

MAX PECHSTEIN (German 1881 – 1955) FIVE NATIVE WOMEN, 1919 (KL 340: Rifkind 2228-37) Lithograph, edition 50, from the portfolio edition of Reisebilder, Italien -...

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1910s Expressionist Max Pechstein Art

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[The Lord’s Prayer]

[The Lord’s Prayer]

By Max Pechstein

Located in New York, NY

Das Vaterunser. [The Lord’s Prayer] Plate 12 From Portfolio of 12 Woodcuts with watercolor on wove paper. Printed by F. Voigt for Proplaen Verlag, Berlin 1921. Signed by the artist a...

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1920s Expressionist Max Pechstein Art

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Weib Vom Manne Begehrt (Woman Desired by Man)

Weib Vom Manne Begehrt (Woman Desired by Man)

By Max Pechstein

Located in Saint Augustine, FL

An original woodcut by German artist Max Pechstein (1881-1955) titled "Weib Vom Manne Begehry (Woman Desired by Man)", 1920, from: Kurt Pfister "Deutsche Graphiker der Gegenwart, Lei...

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Early 19th Century Expressionist Max Pechstein Art

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Woodcut

Max Pechstein art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Max Pechstein art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Max Pechstein in lithograph, woodcut print, drypoint and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the Expressionist style. Not every interior allows for large Max Pechstein art, so small editions measuring 5 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Conrad Felixmuller, Erich Heckel, and Otto Mueller. Max Pechstein art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $2,000 and tops out at $8,800, while the average work can sell for $3,750.

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