Hermann Max Pechstein

Karl Lilienfeld, Berlin & New York
Van Diemen-Lilienfeld Galleries
Dalzell Hatfield Galleries, Los Angeles (acquired from the above)
Mr. & Mrs. Donald S. Gilmore, Michigan (acquired from the above in 1965)
Gifted from the above in 1980

Los Angeles, Dalzell Hatfield Galleries, Pechstein, 1959, illustrated in the catalogue
Grand Rapids, Michigan, Grand Rapids Art Museum, Pioneers: Early 20th Century Art from Midwestern Museums, 1981, n.n.

Max Osborn, Propyläen-Verlag, Berlin, 1922, p. 41, illustrated pl. 21

Canvas is not lined. There are a few minor scuffs at the lower right corner. Under UV light: a few strokes of inpainting are visible near the center of the left edge; a few pindots of inpainting are visible approximately six inches to the right of the signature. There are a few scattered spots of retouching in the upper left quadrant and a few strokes below the center of the top edge. There are a few other scattered pin-dot spots of retouching throughout, almost exclusively near the perimeter of the work. Overall the work is in very good condition.
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In 1913, Pechstein travelled to Italy and made his way along the Tyrrhenian coast, between Genoa and La Spezia. Charmed by the beauty of the Italian landscape, he produced images of the coast and harbour towns, as well as a series of views of stunning medieval towns near Florence, including Brücke bei Fiesole, Monterosso al Mare, and Galluzzo, the small Florentine suburb which is the setting for the present work. It is well known for its medieval charterhouse which surely caught Pechstein's attention not only because of its beauty and historical importance, but also because of the angular forms encapsulated in the structure of the building. Indeed, the famed charterhouse turned monastery, known commonly as the Certosa di Firenze or Certosa del Galluzzo, is known to have later inspired Le Corbusier in his urban projects.

Certosa bei Florenz reflects Pechstein's ambition to find answers to the questions provoked by Cubism, while retaining the vibrant colors and the handling of light inherited from the Fauvists. While demonstrating the influence of movements that were dominating in France at the time, and depicting Italian landscape, the present painting, executed at the height of Pechstein's Die Brüke period, is firmly rooted in his own Expressionistic style. Certosa bei Florenz is therefore not only an expression of Pechstein's fascination with the Mediterranean life, architecture, light and colors – an environment that prepared him for his personally and artistically most influential trip to the Palau Islands in May 1914 – but also his answer to the most imminent questions of Modern Art at the time.