**Hermann Max Pechstein** (31 December 1881 – 29 June 1955) was a [[German Expressionist]] painter and [printmaker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printmaker "Printmaker") and a member of the [Die Brücke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Br%C3%BCcke "Die Brücke") group. ![[Max Pechstein.image.jpeg]] Max Pechstein (1881–1955) was a key figure in early 20th-century German Expressionism, primarily associated with Die Brücke (The Bridge), an influential artist group founded in Dresden in 1905. Die Brücke aimed to break from academic traditions and embrace a more raw, emotionally charged aesthetic, influenced by non-Western art and early modern movements like Fauvism. Pechstein joined the group in 1906 and was its only academically trained member. His notable contemporaries within [[Die Brücke]] included [[Ernst Ludwig Kirchner]], Erich Heckel, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, and Emil Nolde. They shared a focus on vivid colors, distorted forms, and intense emotional expression, which aligned with broader Expressionist aims. Pechstein was also influenced by other movements, including Fauvism and Post-Impressionism. He had a close relationship with French avant-garde artists like Henri Matisse and Paul Cézanne, whose bold colors and forms shaped his own work. After his time with Die Brücke, Pechstein joined the Berlin Secession and exhibited with the Neue Sezession, where he interacted with artists like Max Beckmann and Lovis Corinth. While Pechstein’s style was deeply tied to Expressionism, his travels to the South Seas in 1914 also infused his work with a Primitivist influence, reflecting his interest in indigenous art forms and exoticism. ![[PechsteinIMG_0497.jpeg]]