MAX PECHSTEIN | Calla Stillleben im Spiegel (Still Life with Calla Lilies in the Mirror)

Galerie Gurlitt, Berlin
Paul Cassirer, Berlin (on commission from the above in 1917)
Galerie Gurlitt, Berlin (until 1923)
Kunsthandel, Berlin (circa 1935)
Private Collection, Germany (acquired circa 1935; sale: Hauswedell & Nolte, Hamburg, 8th June 1990, lot 82)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Wilheim Hausenstein, 'Max Pechstein', in Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration, Darmstadt, 1918, vol. XLII, n.n., illustrated p. 206
Max Raphael 'Max Pechstein' in Das Kunstblatt, Potsdam-Berlin, 1918, no. 6, illustrated p. 168 (titled Calla)
Aya Soika, Max Pechstein, Das Werkverzeichnis der Gemälde, Munich, 2011, vol. I, no. 1917/19, illustrated in colour p. 494 (illustration reversed)

The canvas is not lined and inspection under UV light reveals no signs of retouching. The canvas is quite loose on its stretcher and may benefit from being re-keyed. There is frame abrasion apparent at all four edges with associated paint loss, and a small tear to the extreme lower left corner of the canvas, none of which is visible when framed. There are some minor flecks of paint loss to the composition, notably in the thinner areas of pigment. There is a small area of shrinkage to the lower part of the central vase. Overall this work is in good condition.
"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 1917, Pechstein's brilliant Calla-Stilleben im Spiegel is a powerful still-life dating from the period when the artist had recently returned to Berlin after serving in the German Army for two years. Returning to Berlin in 1917 following his release from military service, Pechstein experienced a great flurry of artistic activity and quickly regained his old fluency and vigour. The artist described his emotional return to painting in a letter from 6^th August 1919 to his friend Georg Biermann: ‘...until in spring 1917 I could return to Berlin, in order to throw myself ravenously into the long desired sea of colours... Finally I am completely free, sitting in my beloved Nidden, working and bursting with energy’ (quoted in Max Pechstein im Brücke-Museum Berlin (exhibition catalogue), Brücke-Museum, Berlin & travelling, 2001-02, p. 45, translated from German). Capturing the essence of Pechstein's talent as a colourist, the modernist art historian Max Raphael comments on this particular and exciting period in Pechstein's life: 'this colourist paints still lifes: flowers and fruits, cutlery and landscapes, in a room or on the table, where nature's rhythms float together [...] the centre of Pechstein's art of course remains colour, which he yields together with the Line and the Form, and in which light is reduced to a flat, geometric shape' (Max Raphael, Max Pechstein, in: Das Kunstblatt, 1918, p. 161).

During these inter-war years Pechstein revived the brilliant colours of his pre-war style which he applied in thick brushstrokes. The luscious colouration of saturated yellows, reds and greens and the application of black contours seem to draw inspiration from French Fauve painting as well as the works of Paul Cézanne and Vincent van Gogh. Heavily painted with bold sweeps of thick colour Calla-Stilleben im Spiegel  is in line with the artist’s formal explorations at the time, such as Stilleben vor einem Spiegel (Still Life in front of a Mirror), also from 1917, demonstrating his determination to break through the traditional boundaries of painterly representation. Pechstein responded faithfully to Expressionist ideas aimed toward a distortion of form and perspective and a stridency of colour and vision; the bold and simplified forms and distinctive black outlines superbly exemplify the artist's continuous experimentation with the painterly language of Expressionism. In the present work Pechstein creates a panorama of form and strong colour that in its density conveys a powerful sense of the solidity and materiality of the still life. The powerful composition, with its picture plane tilted up towards the viewer, provides a feeling of being fully immersed within the composition.