Max Pechstein, The source, 1906 by Atelier Liesjes

A large, early expressionist nude portrait of a seated, nude woman with long, wavy orange hair decorated with a garland of flowers (flowers and leaves). She has a pale body with full forms, blue eyes and a serious expression, arms stretched wide in an open, almost embracing pose. She sits on a green hill or bank by a meandering blue stream/ spring, surrounded by white daisies (daisies), green bushes and an idyllic landscape with rolling hills, fields full of dots (flowers?), trees and a clear sky. The composition is framed by light walls or rocks; signed "M. Pechstein" (or variant).
Meaning
This early work from 1906, the year Pechstein joined Die Brücke, symbolises vitality, fertility and a harmonious connection with nature. The woman as "source" (quelle) represents life force, purity and sensual freedom - a romantic, almost mythical image of "natural" man. It shows influences of symbolism and early expressionism, with a celebration of the body in an Arcadian landscape, as an escape from industrial modernity.
Technique
Oil on canvas: vibrant, non-naturalistic colours (orange hair, green landscape, blue water) with thick, expressive brushstrokes and decorative patterns (flower fields as dots). Flat surfaces and contours give a naive, folkloric effect, inspired by post-impressionism and primitive art - a transition to the rawer Brücke style.

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.