604 - Hermann Max Pechstein (1881, Zwickau – Berlin, 1955)

Hermann Max Pechstein (1881, Zwickau – Berlin, 1955) Standing Female Nude Black chalk, washed in watercolor, on chamois-colored handmade paper by Van Gelder Zonen. ca. 1925–30. Approx. 38.5 x 27 cm. Signed lower right. Accompanied by a photographic confirmation from Max K. Pechstein, Hamburg, dated February 1993 (black-and-white copy). The work is cataloged in the archives of the Max Pechstein Copyright Association. The subject is likely Marta, Pechstein’s second wife, whom he married in 1923. Although nudes—including those of his first wife—are part of Pechstein’s typical repertoire, this intimate portrayal of Marta, easily recognizable by her characteristic profile with full lips, is considered a rarity in his oeuvre. Provenance: Dobiaschofsky, Bern, Oct. 20–23, 1993, Lot 1067; Private collection, Toronto, Canada, and Switzerland; Private collection, Southern Germany; Ketterer, Munich, Dec. 3, 2015, Lot 74; Private collection, Bavaria. Taxation: subject to margin scheme (VAT: Margin Scheme).