Hermann Max Pechstein

Walter Kristeller, Berlin & New Rochelle, New York (acquired directly from the artist circa 1925)
Thence by descent to the present owner

Dr Aya Soika, Max Pechstein, Das Werkverszeichnis der Ölgemälde 1905-1918, Hamburg, 2011, vol. I no. 1912/43, illustrated in colour p. 407

The canvas is not lined. There is a small patch visible on the reverse corresponding to a 3cm repaired tear to the arm of the left seated figure. There is a pinhole towards the lower left corner. There are a few small areas of paint loss, the most prominent of which is above the shoulder of the standing figure on the right. There is some paint flaking in places most notably along the lower edge. The present condition of the work is consistent with age and the untouched state of the work.
"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."

The present work was painted in 1912 at the height of Pechstein's Brücke period, when he and his fellow artists Kirchner, Schmidt-Rottluff and Heckel used to make regular painting excursions from Berlin to the Baltic coast. Pechstein spent the summer and autumn of 1912 in Nidden, a small fishing village in the sand dunes on the coast, and this painting captures the essence of the artist's vision at that time, with its four figures in an exotic landscape.

The Freikörperkultur prevalent in Germany during the first two decades of the twentieth century promoted the free movement of man in nature, unfettered by the clothing, constraints and inhibitions of Western civilisation. The Brücke artists were fascinated by the potential for freedom of expression and closeness to nature promoted by this movement, which endorsed nude bathing, games and healthy outdoor living. Figurenkomposition is a powerful reflection of Pechstein's search for this bond between man and nature both in his life and in his art.

The heavily delineated outlines of the figures rhyme with the sweeping landscape in the background and with its unusual monochrome tonality the composition epitomises the more serene end of the Expressionist spectrum.

Figurenkomposition represents a point of confluence between Pechstein's Fauvist-style Expressionism and the beginning of the response to Cubism and the art of Cézanne in 1913. The depiction of four figures in the present work implements the pictorial convention of the naked figure in the landscape as a timeless symbol of harmony in order to invoke this atavistic notion of a primordial age of innocence.