Häuser in Hendaye. 1931.
Oil on canvas.
Monogrammed and dated in lower right. Belatedly inscribed "HMPechstein / Berlin-Grunewald / Warmbrunnerstr. 20" and "Häuser in Hendaye (Weisses Haus)" by a hand other than that of the artist on the reverse of the stretcher. 80 x 100 cm (31.4 x 39.3 in).
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The Museum Wiesbaden shows a comprehensive retrospective of 160 works by Max Pechstein until the end of June 2024.
• In 1931, Max Pechstein traveled to the south of France and the Pyrenees to "fulfill a longing", as he wrote in a letter to Walter Minnich.
• Inspired by impressions made on his travels, he created a small group of paintings, including this "Hause in Hendaye".
• Deserted scene in striking luminous colors - a palette of such clarity and purity is extremely rare in the artist's oeuvre.
• Exhibited in the Pechstein exhibition at the Berlin Secession the year it was created.
• From the estate of Max Pechstein, for the first time offered on the international auction market.

PROVENANCE: Artist's estate.
Private collection Germany.
Ever since family owned.

EXHIBITION: Max Pechstein, Berliner Secession, 67th exhibition, December 30, 1931 - January 1932, no. 26 (titled "Morgen in Hendaye").

LITERATURE: Aya Soika, Max Pechstein. Das Werkverzeichnis der Ölgemälde, vol. 2: 1919-1954, Munich 2011, no. 1931/5 (illu. in colorr).
"I'm on the lookout for a country to heal on both the in- and outside, it's high time I get out of my German comfort zone again .. So this time I want to satisfy a yearning, even if only for 2 months, to the south of France, to the Spanish border in the Basque country, to Hendaye."
Max Pechstein in a letter to Walter Minnich, May 1931, quoted from: Aya Soika, Max Pechstein. Das Werkverzeichnis der Ölgemälde, vol. 2: 1919-1954, Munich 2011, p. 22