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Lot Essay
Pechstein executed this painting after he came back from World War I. Returning to his easel, he wrote in a letter to Professor Georg Biermann on 16 August 1919: "... Es war ein dicker Strich, den der Schtzengraben durch mein Leben gezogen, denn whrend ich die gesamte Zeit von einem Frontteil zum anderen wanderte, blieb mir nicht einmal gengend Zeit, um den Krper auszuruhen... Nun ist der wilde Traum zu Ende. Wieder ist Sommer. Endlich bin ich ganz frei und sitze wieder in meinem geliebten Nidden, arbeite und sauge mich voll mit Kraft, wie das Moos, welches unter dem Regen aufgeht und den Wald in ein Wunder verwandelt. Ich lebe im Rausche, Arbeit, Meer, Frau - Kind-, kaue die Luft und mchte Pinsel zerbrechen vor Wonne des Schaffens" (Quoted in Max Pechstein, Zeichnungen und Aquarelle, Jrgen Schilling ed., Wolfsburg 1987/88).
In the present work, Pechstein appears to refer back to an earlier period in his career, during the years of the Brcke. The fruitful influences between the Fauves in France and the Brcke in Germany have often been stressed. In fact, the nude in this picture recalls not only Kirchner's work but also that of Matisse in the choice of colour, the bold lines and the type of facial features which are reduced and yet individual.
In the present work, Pechstein appears to refer back to an earlier period in his career, during the years of the Brcke. The fruitful influences between the Fauves in France and the Brcke in Germany have often been stressed. In fact, the nude in this picture recalls not only Kirchner's work but also that of Matisse in the choice of colour, the bold lines and the type of facial features which are reduced and yet individual.