Hermann Max Pechstein (31 December 1881 – 29 June 1955) was a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
expressionist
Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
painter and
printmaker and a member of the
Die Brücke
The Brücke (Bridge), also Künstlergruppe Brücke or KG Brücke was a group of German expressionist artists formed in Dresden in 1905. Founding members were Fritz Bleyl, Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff. Later memb ...
group. He fought on the
Western Front during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and his art was classified as
Degenerate Art
Degenerate art (german: Entartete Kunst was a term adopted in the 1920s by the Nazi Party in Germany to describe modern art. During the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler, German modernist art, including many works of internationally renowned artists, ...
by the
Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...
. More than 300 paintings were removed from German Museums during the
Nazi era.
Life and career
Pechstein was born in
Zwickau
Zwickau (; is, with around 87,500 inhabitants (2020), the fourth-largest city of Saxony after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz and it is the seat of the Zwickau District. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ...
, the son of a craftsman who worked in a textile mill. The family of eight lived on the father's salary. An early contact with the art of
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...
stimulated Pechstein's development toward
expressionism. He first worked as a decorator in his home town before enrolling at the School of Applied Arts and then at the Royal Art Academy in
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...
, where he met the painter Otto Gussman and the architect
Wilhelm Kreis. It was here, starting in 1902, that he became a pupil of Gussmann; a relationship that lasted until 1906
when Pechstein met
Erich Heckel
Erich Heckel (31 July 1883 – 27 January 1970) was a German painter and printmaker, and a founding member of the group ''Die Brücke'' ("The Bridge") which existed 1905–1913. His work was part of the art competitions at the 1928 Summer ...
and was invited to join the art group
Die Brücke
The Brücke (Bridge), also Künstlergruppe Brücke or KG Brücke was a group of German expressionist artists formed in Dresden in 1905. Founding members were Fritz Bleyl, Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff. Later memb ...
. He was the only member to have received formal art training. He was an active member of the Brücke until 1910 and often worked alongside Brücke painters creating a homogeneous style of this period. In 1905 he was in Dresden where the museum of ethnology showed wood carvings from the South Seas. As a result he developed his first woodcut.
In 1907 Pechstein traveled to Italy to receive an award, and upon his return in 1908 spent time in Paris where he met the Fauvist painter
Kees van Dongen
Cornelis Theodorus Maria "Kees" van Dongen (26 January 1877 – 28 May 1968) was a Dutch-French painter who was one of the leading Fauves. Van Dongen's early work was influenced by the Hague School and symbolism and it evolved gradually into a r ...
whom he persuaded to join Die Brücke. Later that year Pechstein moved to
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
(a move that fellow painters were to make in the following three years). After being categorically rejected from exhibiting in the
Berlin Secession
The Berlin Secession was an art movement established in Germany on May 2, 1898. Formed in reaction to the Association of Berlin Artists, and the restrictions on contemporary art imposed by Kaiser Wilhelm II, 65 artists "seceded," demonstrating ag ...
in 1910, he helped to found and became chairman of the
New Secession
The New Secession (german: Neue Secession) was an association of expressionist artists organizing joint exhibitions in Berlin 1910–1914.
The New Secession, initially led by Georg Tappert and Max Pechstein, was formed after 27 expressionistic wo ...
and gained recognition for his decorative and colorful prints that were inspired by the art of Van Gogh,
Matisse
Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, and sculptur ...
, and the
Fauves.
In 1912, after years of rising tensions, Pechstein was expelled from the Brücke after exhibiting some of his work in the aforementioned Berlin Secession all by himself and without paintings of other members of the Brücke.
This expulsion was a relatively happy one as Pechstein had been receiving rewards and recognition far beyond his peers owing to his conservative style that appealed to a wider audience. This recognition only distanced him from the group and bred animosity among the members. His paintings eventually became more
primitivist
Primitivism is a mode of aesthetic idealization that either emulates or aspires to recreate a "primitive" experience. It is also defined as a philosophical doctrine that considers "primitive" peoples as nobler than civilized peoples and was an o ...
, incorporating thick black lines and angular figures. Looking for inspiration, he traveled to
Palau
Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the ...
in the
Pacific ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...
. Upon the outbreak of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Pechstein was interned in Japan and returned to Germany via
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
,
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
, and
New York. He was sent to fight on the
Western Front (World War I)
The Western Front was one of the main theatres of war during the First World War. Following the outbreak of war in August 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of impo ...
in 1916.
Despite his notably conservative stance and style, after the
German Revolution of 1918–19, Pechstein joined two radical socialist groups: the
Arbeitsrat für Kunst The Arbeitsrat für Kunst (German: 'Workers council for art' or 'Art Soviet') was a union of architects, painters, sculptors and art writers, who were based in Berlin from 1918 to 1921. It developed as a response to the Workers and Soldiers councils ...
and the
November Group (German)
The November Group (german: Novembergruppe) was a group of German expressionist artists and architects. Formed on 3 December 1918, they took their name from the month of the German Revolution.
The group was led by Max Pechstein and César Klein. ...
. Beginning in 1922, Pechstein became a professor at the
Berlin Academy.
Beginning in 1933, Pechstein was vilified by the Nazis because of his art. He was banned from painting or exhibiting his art and later that year was fired from his teaching position. A total of 326 of his paintings were removed from German museums. Sixteen of his works were displayed in the ''
Entartete Kunst
Degenerate art (german: Entartete Kunst was a term adopted in the 1920s by the Nazi Party in Germany to describe modern art. During the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler, German modernist art, including many works of internationally renowned artists, ...
'' (''Degenerate Art'') exhibition of 1937. During this time, Pechstein went into seclusion in rural
Pomerania
Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...
. He was reinstated in 1945, and subsequently won numerous titles and awards for his work.
Many of Pechstein's collectors were
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
whose collections were seized by the Nazis or lost owing to Nazi persecution. In May 2013 the
Bavarian State Paintings Collections agreed to restitute Pechstein's ''White House'', (1910) and his ''Meadow Valley'' (1911) to the heirs of
Curt Glaser. In July 2021, France decided to restitute to the heirs of Hugo Simon the Pechstein entitled ''Nus dans un paysage''.
He was a prolific printmaker, producing 421
lithographs, 315
woodcut
Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas tha ...
s and
linocut
Linocut, also known as lino print, lino printing or linoleum art, is a printmaking technique, a variant of woodcut in which a sheet of linoleum (sometimes mounted on a wooden block) is used for a relief surface. A design is cut into the linoleum s ...
s, and 165
intaglio prints, mostly
etching
Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...
s.
Personal life
He was married to Charlotte Karpolat from 1911 until 1923 and later was married to Marta Möller.
He died in
West Berlin
West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...
and is buried in the
Evangelischer Friedhof Alt-Schmargendorf in Berlin.
Works
File:Hermann Max Pechstein Fraukopf 1911c.jpg, Pechstein, ''Woman's Head (Fraukopf)'', c. 1911, M.T. Abraham Foundation
The M.T. Abraham Foundation is a non-profit art institution, which is part of the Israeli M.T. Abraham Group. Its headquarters are in Paris, France, and its collections are stored in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded by the descendants of Mansu ...
Art market
At a 1999
Sotheby's
Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...
auction, ''The Yellow Mask I'' (1910), the portrait of a woman wearing a yellow mask, was sold for $1.37 million.
[Souren Melikian (16 October 1999)]
Glories of German Expressionism Emerge at Sales: An Era That Shrieked in Color
'' International Herald Tribune''. In 2008, ''Zirkus mit Dromedaren'' (c. 1920) was auctioned for £1.9 million in London.
References
External links
*
Max Pechstein at ArtcyclopediaOfficial Max Pechstein Webpage/Catalogue raisonne of Pechstein's oil paintingsBiography at Galerie Ludorff, Düsseldorf, Germany
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pechstein, Max
1881 births
1955 deaths
People from Zwickau
People from the Kingdom of Saxony
20th-century German painters
20th-century German male artists
German male painters
Modern painters
German Expressionist painters
Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Academic staff of the Prussian Academy of Arts
20th-century German printmakers