Hermann Max Pechstein

Dr Karl Lilienfeld, Leipzig, Berlin & New York, 1932
Jacob Goldschmidt, Paris (acquired from the above circa 1950)
Sale: Stuttgarter Kunstkabinett, Roman Norbert Ketterer, Stuttgart, 26th May 1955, lot 1834
Galerie Wilhelm Grosshenning, Dusseldorf (acquired from the above in 1959)
Galerie Kurt Meissner, Zurich (acquired from the above in 1959)
Private Collection, Germany
Sale: Karl & Faber, Munich, 30th November 1979, lot 1908
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Selm, Schloss Cappenberg, Max Pechstein, 1989, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

Kindlers Malerei Lexikon, Zürich, 1967, vol. IV, illustrated in colour p. 75

The canvas is not lined. The surface retains a rich impasto. The surface is slightly dirty. A few thin cracks are faintly visible in the dark blue pigment on the furthest right side of her dress. Under UV several pin dots of in painting in a 2 cm area near the figures left hip. These retouches are visible to the naked eye and are likely to be quite old. A tiny paint loss is visible in her bodice (also visible in the catalogue illustration). Otherwise this work is in very good condition. Colours: the colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate although the dress has more purple tones and the flesh tones are pinker.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Painted in 1912, Rauchende is an extraordinarily glamorous portrait of the artist's sister-in-law Liese, lost in the impenetrable space of a daydream. She holds a cigarette in her hand but one suspects that it might well go unsmoked, burning down on its own, such is her distraction. The bold application of vibrant colour harks back to Pechstein's Brücke period - when he was experimenting with the likes of Kirchner, Heckel and Schmidt-Rotluff - and indeed the present work is every bit as visceral and intense in its impact as those earlier paintings.

Liese looks downwards and as such we are unable to engage with her directly, adding to the mystery of the smoke filled scene. Of course the fact that the viewer is prevented from looking directly at her only increases their desire to know her. She is not entirely at ease posing, and this reflects the Expressionist group's attempt 'to grasp and describe the conflicting positive and negative effects of modernity' (Jill Lloyd, German Expressionism, Primitivism and Modernity, New Haven, 1991, p. vi). Her surroundings looming over her, the figure is squashed right up to the front of the picture plane. She invades our space and vice versa, to create a remarkably intimate, albeit slightly uncomfortable, confrontation. The result is a tension filled dialogue only exacerbated by the pulsing colour blocks that frame her. 

At once theatrical, subdued, full of clarity, full of mystery, obvious, and intangible, Rauchende is a work whose impact is not easily expressed in words, and therein lies its strength.