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Artist or Maker: 1881-1955
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Dimensions: 70 by 80cm.
27 1/2 by 31 1/2in.
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Provenance: Prof. Dr Otto Homburger (acquired from the artist)
Estate of Prof. Dr. Otto Homburger (Sale: Galerie Koller, Zurich, 20th May 1992, lot 5011)
Purchased from the above by the present owner
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Exhibited: Berlin, Brücke-Museum; Tübingen, Kunsthalle and Kiel, Kunsthalle, Max Pechstein, Sein malerisches Werk, 1996-97, no. 82, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
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Notes: Although dated 1914 by the artist, Italienische Kirche (Kloster von San Gimignano) has been identified as being painted in 1913, when Pechstein was travelling in Italy along the Tyrrhenian coast, between Genoa and La Spezia. Charmed by the beauty of the Italian landscape, he produced images of the coast and harbour towns, as well as a series of views of stunning medieval towns near Florence, including Brücke bei Fiesole and Monterosso al Mare. Among those was the Tuscan town of San Gimignano, situated some 56 kilometres south of Florence. It is well known for its medieval convent which surely caught Pechstein's attention not only because of its beauty and historical importance, but also because of the angular forms encapsulated in the structure of the building.
Italienische Kirche (Kloster von San Gimignano) reflects Pechstein's ambition to find answers to the questions provoked by Cubism, whilst retaining the vibrant colours and the handling of light inherited from the Fauvists. Whilst demonstrating the influence of movements that were dominating in France at the time, and depicting Italian landscape, the present painting, executed at the height of Pechstein's Die Brüke period, is firmly rooted in his own Expressionistic style. Italienische Kirche (Kloster von San Gimignano) is therefore not only an expression of Pechstein's fascination with the Mediterranean life, architecture, light and colours ? an environment that prepared him for his personally and artistically most influential trip to the Palau Islands in May 1914 ? but also his answer to the most imminent questions of Modern Art at the time.
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