Pechstein in Nidden, 1909

The eighth edition of the Contexts exhibition series is organised around the presentation of the picture Haff (Inlet), by the German expressionist artist Max Pechstein, acquired by the Ministry of Education and Culture for the Museum Collection. It is the first time a new picture join the collection and the acquisition also add to the already very extensive group of works by the expressionist group Die Brücke (The Bridge) in the Permanent Collection. This event, together with the importance of the work, was considered to be a great opportunity to organise a new show in the Contexts series. To accompany this picture, the exhibition also included a group of twelve oil paintings and watercolours that Pechstein made in the summer of 1909 during his fruitful stay in Nidden, a small fishing village on the Baltic. This was a key moment in his artistic development, as he affirmed himself and acquired the necessary expressive resources to fully develop his unique and personal style.