Untitled 1920

Max Pechstein made this drawing with charcoal or some other dry medium. It’s all quick, scratchy marks. The lines are so fresh, I can almost imagine him standing in front of the boats and buildings he’s depicting. There’s a windmill at the top, with radiating lines that feel a bit like a lighthouse. And then boats, lots of boats. They’re kind of stacked on top of each other with the water in between. I get the sense Pechstein made this quickly, maybe even en plein air. He’s really going for it with the darks. Squint and you'll see how the dark marks really hold the image together. It makes me think of other artists at the time, like Kirchner or Heckel, who were also part of Die Brücke. They were all pushing the boundaries of expression and mark-making in their own ways. You can see how they inspired each other.