Max Pechstein, Leaving to go fishing, 1951 by Atelier Liesjes

A lively and rhythmic maritime scene in which Pechstein captures the moment when fishermen launch their boats - an image of collaboration, coastal life and painterly energy.

🎨 What you see
A group of people work together to launch a rowing boat from the beach, some in the boat with oars, others on the shore with ropes and planks.

The sea waves gently against the shore, with a second sailboat visible in the distance.

The colours are bright and contrasting: blue, yellow, brown - with powerful contour lines giving movement and texture.

The brushwork is expressive and dynamic, with an emphasis on gesture and collaboration.

🧩 Theme
Pechstein here depicts fishing life as a collective effort, rooted in rhythm and tradition.

The scene exudes an atmosphere of labour and connection with nature, without romanticisation.

The work is a visual tribute to the coastal communities he often visited and painted, especially around Zingst and the Baltic Sea.

📍 Style and technique
Typical of Pechstein's late period: decorative clarity, simplified forms, and a preference for rhythmic composition.

The brushwork is powerful and direct, with an almost graphic approach to figure and landscape.

The composition is horizontal and balanced, with the boat as the visual centrepiece - an image of action and maritime resonance.

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 World War I, Pechstein co-founded the Arbeitsrat für Kunst and in 1922 he joined the Prussian Academy of Art.