Kunsthalle Tübingen Gives Max Pechstein’s Dancers Centre Stage

FAZ reports on Kunsthalle Tübingen’s exhibition of the works of German expressionist painter and member of Die Brücke group, Max Pechstein. Pechstein’s explorations of dance through painting drew inspiration from the wild flurry of cabaret, circus and ballroom dancing, more so than the stately motifs of theatre and opera. Pechstein, a keen observer and indeed reveller in Berlin’s early 20th century nightlife, uses stark black lines and gashes of bold, vibrant colour to capture the dynamism and tension in the bodies of the horse-back circus riders and spin-top carnival dancers. He illustrated dance of all genres, from the cancan to ritualistic dances in his paintings, which Kunsthalle Tübingen is conveying in their themed exhibition reuniting 70 of Pechstein’s works. Check out this German auction house’s short essay on his famous ‘Tänzer’ oil painting (1910).