Max Pechstein

(German, 1881-1955)

Fischkutter im Lebastrom II (Fishing Boats in the Lebastrom II), 1933

watercolor and pencil on paper

signed HM Pechstein and dated (lower right)

19 3/4 x 25 1/2 in. (50.2 x 64.8cm)

Property from the Collection of Cornelia S Pedersen

This lot is located in Chicago.

We wish to thank Mrs. Julia Pechstein, Hamburg, for kindly confirming the authenticity of the present lot, which will be accompanied by a certificate of authenticity dated April 29, 2025.

Lot Essay:

(For more information about the artist, please see Lot 16).

With a distinctive use of bold outlines and vibrant colors, Fishing Boats in the Lebastrom II, 1933, recalls the Fauve painters, and exemplifies the formal explorations of Pechstein of the time. Under a pale sky, the boats and their reflections in the almost mirror-like water come alive with energetically applied streaks of color, and there is a marked contrast between the flatness of the picture plane and abundance of rich detail. The words of Max Osborn could have described Pechstein’s intention in this very watercolor: 'He wants to capture the pulsating brightness, the interweaving of the blinding light and the wonderful clear air, or the filtering effect that occurs through the humid atmospheric veil. It evokes an Impressionist theme, but the execution is entirely different. There is nothing analyzed, nothing dissolved into a maze of details... The whole series of Leba pictures allows us to observe a new development. The colorful expression has kept its layered flatness, but it is richer, and more lively in its structure' (M. Osborn, Max Pechstein, Berlin, 1922). It is a testament to the artist’s continuous experimentation with the lexicon of Expressionism applied to a region, a culture, a season, an atmosphere, a feeling so profoundly beloved by the artist.

Fischkutter im Lebastrom II (Fishing Boats in the Lebastrom II), 1933

Fischkutter im Lebastrom II (Fishing Boats in the Lebastrom II), 1933