Stillleben: Figur und Blumen

Pechstein’s Expressionist still life was painted during World War I, shortly after his discharge from the military in 1917. However, the horrors of war do not feature in his painting.

Instead, the artist focuses on the contrast between the lush forms of the lupines, with their vigorous movement and glowing colors against the blue background, and the angular, dark figure on the left of the picture. It is an allusion to Pechstein’s journey to Palau, in the South Seas, which he undertook in 1914, and displays his fascination for the art of the peoples of Oceania.

But it was not just Pechstein and his colleagues from the Expressionist artists’ group Brücke who drew inspiration from the exotically perceived forms. They provided a decisive impulse for the whole of modern art—from Paul Gauguin (1848–1903) to Pablo Picasso (1881–1973).