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, only the high expenses of the trip make my heart heavy at the moment."
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