Untitled [Rescue boat]

A small boat floats amidst the raging waves of the Baltic Sea. This is a painting depicting a 'rescue boat'.

The year 1912. For Hermann Max Pechstein, this year marked a major turning point in his life. He was expelled from 'Die Brücke' (The Bridge), the artist group he had belonged to. The reason was his independent decision to exhibit his work at the Berlin Secession exhibition without the group's consent. The tension that had accumulated over many years among his comrades finally exploded in the form of a rupture. Pechstein was 31 years old and isolated.

However, this expulsion was not merely a 'misfortune' for him. By parting ways with his comrades, he gained true freedom of expression and financial success. Alone, he headed to Nidden, a fishing village in the north. There, he found nothing but overwhelming nature and the daily lives of fishermen confronting it. He became close with the local fishermen and is even said to have gone fishing with them. Factional disputes in the art world held no meaning on the open sea.