Max Pechstein, In the Harem, 1909 by Atelier Liesjes

A stylised lithograph (or colour lithograph) depicting two scantily clad women in an intimate harem setting. The women are sitting or reclining relaxed on a bed or divan, with long dark hair (one with curly hair), sensual poses and expressive faces (one with her knee raised, the other leaning). The background is abstract with curtains or walls in yellow and blue, decorative patterns and a vase or pillar. The colours are limited but intense (blue, ochre/yellow, olive/olive green, black), with thick contours and an exotic, primitive feel; signed 'HMP 09' or variant.
Meaning This work from 1909 (early Brücke period) shows Pechstein's fascination with exoticism and the "other" – the harem as a symbol of sensuality, freedom and oriental fantasy. Inspired by non-Western art and Orientalism, it celebrates the naked body in a decorative, erotic setting. It fits in with the Brücke ideals of raw emotion, liberation from bourgeois conventions and primitivism. In 1909, it marks Pechstein's experiments with colour and form, with a dreamy, sensual charge typical of his early themes of femininity and escapism. Technique
Colour lithography (farblithographie) in blue, ochre, olive green and black on paper: multiple stones for layer-on-layer printing, with expressive lines and flat areas of colour for a decorative, almost poster-like effect. The technique emphasises contrast and simplicity, typical of Pechstein's graphic work in 1909 – inspired by Brücke woodcuts but with colourful lithography for accessibility and expression.

Hermann Max Pechstein (Zwickau, 31 December 1881 – Berlin, 29 June 1955) was a painter from Germany. Pechstein is considered an important representative of Expressionism. In 1918, after the First World War, Pechstein co-founded the Arbeitsrat für Kunst (Workers' Council for Art) and in 1922 he became a member of the Prussian Academy of Arts.