Hermann Max Pechstein (31 December 1881 – 29 June 1955) was a German expressionist painter and printmaker and a member of the Die Brücke group.

[2] It was here, starting in 1902, that he became a pupil of Gussmann; a relationship that lasted until 1906[3] when Pechstein met Erich Heckel and was invited to join the art group Die Brücke.

In 1907 Pechstein traveled to Italy to receive an award, and upon his return in 1908 spent time in Paris where he met the Fauvist painter Kees van Dongen whom he persuaded to join Die Brücke.

[3] This expulsion was a relatively happy one as Pechstein had been receiving rewards and recognition far beyond his peers owing to his conservative style that appealed to a wider audience.

Upon the outbreak of World War I, Pechstein was interned in Japan and returned to Germany via Shanghai, Manila, and New York.

In May 2013 the Bavarian State Paintings Collections agreed to restitute Pechstein's White House, (1910) and his Meadow Valley (1911) to the heirs of Curt Glaser.

[5] In July 2021, France decided to restitute to the heirs of Hugo Simon the Pechstein entitled Nus dans un paysage.