Sale: 560 / Evening Sale, Dec. 06. 2024 in Munich Lot 31


31
Hermann Max Pechstein
Sonne im Schilf, 1921.
Oil on canvas
Estimate:
€ 250,000 - 350,000

 
$ 275,000 - 385,000

+
Sonne im Schilf. 1921.
Oil on canvas.
Signed in the lower left. Once more signed as well as titled and numbered “XVI” on the reverse of the canvas. 100 x 80 cm (39.3 x 31.4 in).
This painting is entioned in the 1921 studio book: “XVI. Sonne im Schilf, 100 x 80”. [EH].

• Bold play with the observer's viewing habits: is the picture upside down?
• Surreal-real – a suspenseful orchestration of perspective and light.
• An extraordinarily modern reflection of the sun as a luminous spectacle of color on the water.
• From the important Berlin collection of Pechstein patron Carl Steinbart, which includes 25 Pechstein paintings, among them “Lotte mit Kopftuch” (1919), as well as paintings by Munch, Courbet and Slevogt
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PROVENANCE: Presumably from the collection of Carl Steinbart (1852-1923), Berlin (acquired directly from the artist around 1921, until 1923).
Presumably from the estate of Carl Steinbart: Collection of Eva Beyer, née Steinbart (inherited from the above in 1923).
Collection of Dr. Conrad and Elsa Doebbeke, Berlin (probably directly from the above, until 1960: Lempertz).
Private collection, Cologne (acquired from the above in 1960: Lempertz).
Private collection, Hesse (1963: Lempertz).
Galerie Peter Griebert, Munich (until 1970).
Private collection, Bavaria (acquired from the above in 1970.
Family-owned ever since.

EXHIBITION: Max Pechstein. Gemälde, Aquarelle, Graphiken, Galerie Gunzenhauser, Munich May 10 - June 15, 1970 , no. 5, p. 6.

LITERATURE: Aya Soika, Max Pechstein. Das Werkverzeichnis der Ölgemälde, vol. 2: 1919-1954, Munich 2011, no.1921/35.
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Lempertz, Cologne, auction 463, December 3, 1960, lot 382.
Lempertz, Cologne, auction 473, June 11/12, 1963, lot 542.

Called up: December 6, 2024 - ca. 18.00 h +/- 20 min.

"Sonne im Schilf" (Sun in the Reeds) testifies to Max Pechstein's fascination with the unique depiction of light and landscape. The artist repeatedly painted the sun and sea. He was enchanted by the play of the waves and how the light danced on them. He was mesmerized by the exuberant play of colors and shapes in the clouds and waves, the changing times of day, and the changing weather. Our painting is unique because Max Pechstein put all his expressiveness and sentiment into a decidedly small section of the landscape staged as a large format. There is no view of a vast landscape or the sea. Instead, Max Pechstein focused on a small section of a bank covered with dense reeds and fish traps set up to dry in front of a row of trees. The warm and clear sunlight becomes tangible in the bright yellow sky; trees, reeds, and the formally unique reflection of the sun make the painting glow. Max Pechstein pulls the sun down to the ground, making it a bold and extraordinary backdrop for the scene alone. This reflection appears like a Delaunay-like color spectacle between nature and the color of the sun's reflection; these formal differences make the scene a genuinely extraordinary composition.
Thus, it is perhaps unsurprising that the painting in question comes from the significant collection of Carl Steinbart (1852–1923). Steinbart was an authorized signatory at the bank Mendelssohn & Co. in Berlin, and he “compiled not only a collection of over sixty Max Slevogt paintings after 1918 but also a considerable collection of expressionist art, including numerous works by Pechstein” (Soika, vol. 1, p. 125). It is said that the earliest work in the collection was a version of Gustave Courbet's “La Vague.” Steinbart's collection included a total of 25 Pechstein paintings, the earliest of which was from 1917. By 1918, they must have met in person during a portrait commission for a portrait of his daughter Dora (“Die chinesische Jacke,” Soika 1918/44). [EH]




Buyer's premium, taxation and resale right compensation for Hermann Max Pechstein "Sonne im Schilf"
This lot can be purchased subject to differential or regular taxation, artist‘s resale right compensation is due.

Differential taxation:
Hammer price up to 800,000 €: herefrom 32 % premium.
The share of the hammer price exceeding 800,000 € is subject to a premium of 27 % and is added to the premium of the share of the hammer price up to 800,000 €.
The share of the hammer price exceeding 4,000,000 € is subject to a premium of 22 % and is added to the premium of the share of the hammer price up to 4,000,000 €.
The buyer's premium contains VAT, however, it is not shown.

Regular taxation:
Hammer price up to 800,000 €: herefrom 27 % premium.
The share of the hammer price exceeding 800,000 € is subject to a premium of 21% and is added to the premium of the share of the hammer price up to 800,000 €.
The share of the hammer price exceeding 4,000,000 € is subject to a premium of 15% and is added to the premium of the share of the hammer price up to 4,000,000 €.
The statutory VAT of currently 19 % is levied to the sum of hammer price and premium. As an exception, the reduced VAT of 7 % is added for printed books.

We kindly ask you to notify us before invoicing if you wish to be subject to regular taxation.

Calculation of artist‘s resale right compensation:
For works by living artists, or by artists who died less than 70 years ago, a artist‘s resale right compensation is levied in accordance with Section 26 UrhG:
4 % of hammer price from 400.00 euros up to 50,000 euros,
another 3 % of the hammer price from 50,000.01 to 200,000 euros,
another 1 % for the part of the sales proceeds from 200,000.01 to 350,000 euros,
another 0.5 % for the part of the sale proceeds from 350,000.01 to 500,000 euros and
another 0.25 % of the hammer price over 500,000 euros.
The maximum total of the resale right fee is EUR 12,500.

The artist‘s resale right compensation is VAT-exempt.