Max Pechstein, Houses in Hendaye, 1931 by Atelier Liesjes

A bright, colourful street and harbour landscape in oil paint: in the centre, a large white house with a reddish-brown roof and blue shutters/doors, flanked by other houses in yellow, red and grey with chimneys and roofs. On the right is a tall, dark tree, on the left a quay or street leading to a canal or river with reflections in blue-green water. The sky is light blue with light clouds, the ground warm ochre with shadows; the composition is simple and harmonious, with a sunny, Mediterranean atmosphere. Signed 'H.P. 1931'.
Meaning This work from 1931 was created during Pechstein's stay in Hendaye (French Basque Country, on the Atlantic coast near the Spanish border). Hendaye was one of his favourite summer holiday destinations in the 1930s, where he sought peace and quiet after the political tensions in Germany (rise of Nazism). The houses symbolise simplicity, stability and everyday life in a coastal village – a contrast to his earlier, rawer Baltic Sea motifs. The work exudes calm, light and harmony, with a slight nostalgia for a more carefree existence, while Pechstein's style has become more expressive but softer and more structured.
Technique Oil on canvas: thick but relatively smooth brushstrokes with bright, non-naturalistic colours (white, blue, red, yellow, green) and strong contours for the houses and tree. Flat surfaces combine with subtle shadows and reflections to create depth; typical of Pechstein's later, more subdued style in the 1930s – less angular than the Brücke period, with a decorative and light-hearted effect, inspired by direct observation in Hendaye.

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.