Hermann Max Pechstein

Hugo Simon, Berlin & Seelow
Seized from the above by order of the District President of Frankfurt an der Oder in 1938
Staatliches Museum, Berlin (acquired by 1938) & Nationalgalerie, Berlin (from 1991)
On loan to the Federal Chancellery, Bonn (from 1998)
Restituted to the family of Hugo Simon in 2007

Berlin, Kunstsalon Fritz Gurlitt, Max Pechstein, Teil I: Bildnisse, Landschaften, Stilleben, 1918, no. 6
Berlin, Kunstsalon Fritz Gurlitt, Max Pechstein und Rudolf Belling, 1919, no. 6
Berlin, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie & Berlin, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett, Expressionisten, Die Avantgarde in Deutschland 1905-1920, 1986
Berlin, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie, Aufbau und Zerstörung der Neuen Abteilung der Nationalgalerie im ehemaligen Kronprinzenpalais Unter den Linden 1918-1945, 1988
Berlin, Brücke-Museum; Tübingen, Kunsthalle Tübingen & Kiel, Kunsthalle Kiel, Max Pechstein: Sein malerisches Werk, 1996-7, no. 88, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Bietigheim-Bissingen, Städtische Galerie (& travelling in Germany), Max Pechstein, Werke aus dem Brücke-Museum Berlin und anderen Sammlungen, 2001-02, no. Z 13, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

Friedegund Weidemann, Gemälde des 20. Jahrhunderts, Berlin, 1976, illustrated p. 63
Horst Jähner, Künstlergruppe Brücke, Geschichte einer Gemeinschaft und das Lebenswerk ihrer Repräsentanten, Berlin, 1984, illustrated pl. 401


To be included in the forthcoming Pechstein Catalogue raisonné being prepared by Dr Aya Soika.

The canvas is not lined and there appear to be no signs of retouching visible under UV light. There is a canvas join, intrinsic to the artist's medium, running horizontally across the upper half of the work. Apart from some very minor craquelure mainly towards the centre of the sky, this work is in good original condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurate in the printed catalogue, although the blue and purple hues are brighter and more vibrant in the original.
"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, Schneelandschaft is an important landscape that Pechstein completed towards the end of World War I. The beautifully fresh colouration, contrasting reds with lush greens and deep blues with the whites of the snow captures the serenity and peacefulness that winter evokes. The atmosphere is one of bucolic harmony and man's integration into nature, the houses nestling amongst the snowy landscape and wintery trees stripped of their leaves. Pechstein's vibrant palette reflects the latent influence of German Expressionism, a movement in which he was a universally recognised master. The Expressionist idiom still found a loud and clear voice in Pechstein's paintings of the later 1910s and early 1920s.

Hugo Simon (1880-1950) (fig. 1) once the owner of the present work was a passionate art collector and over the years he built up a wonderful collection which spanned from French classicism, including an important canvas by Poussin, through nineteenth-century paintings, with highlights by Courbet and Caspar David Friedrich, to major examples of German & Austrian Expressionism. He was a friend and benefactor to many artists, as well as being a member of the acquisitions committee of the Nationalgalerie in Berlin and a board member of several art societies.