Man with a Pipe 1911

Max Pechstein made this drawing, "Man with a Pipe," in 1920 using brush and ink. The strokes are so confident and sure, it’s like he’s carving out the image rather than just drawing it. Look at how the ink sits on the paper. Some areas are dense and black, others are lighter, almost transparent. He’s really playing with the physicality of the ink, letting it pool and bleed in places to give weight and volume. The face is all angles and planes, but the beard! It's a flurry of strokes, almost like he’s trying to capture the energy of the man, not just his likeness. It reminds me of some of the German Expressionist woodcuts from the time, where the artists were deliberately rough and raw in their approach. Pechstein was part of the "Die Brücke" group, and you can see their influence here. Like Kirchner's portraits, there's a similar interest in capturing the psychological state of the sitter through expressive mark-making. Ultimately, it’s not about perfection, it's about feeling.