Like so many others, Max Pechstein was electrified by the dance performance, which not only the Berlin Secessionists unanimously acclaimed: In May 1909, the "Ballets Russes", founded shortly before in Paris by Sergei Diaghilev, gave a guest performance on the Spree and inspired with an expressiveness that revolutionized ballet.

The avant-garde stage show inspired the Brücke artist Pechstein to create an early work with rapid brushstrokes that captures the spirit of optimism of those days.

Two dancers perform the pas des deux of Harlequin and Pierrot, a game of contrasts between a clumsy figure in a wide white robe with overlong sleeves here and an agile figure with a mask in a tight-fitting checkered suit there.

The green background and the red stage seem to fold away - Pechstein stages a dance on the volcano.

The picture is becoming more topical at a time when Russian-European cultural exchange has come to a standstill.

Kevin Hanschke

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It is therefore not surprising that the oil painting, measuring 100 by 100 centimetres, is at the top of the summer auctions at Grisebach, which take place from 1st to 3rd June, with an estimated price of 2 to 3 million euros.

The canvas was privately owned for 65 years, and the Berlin auction house is now hoping for a museum as a buyer.

At last year's spring auction, a Dutch seascape by Max Beckmann was sold to the Kunstmuseum Den Haag.

A related work by Beckmann can be found in the current catalogue.

"Grauer Strand" from 1928 shows beach chairs and flags in front of a rough sea (estimate one to 1.5 million euros).

The antagonist to this is Wassily Kandinsky's late-impressionistic beach painting "Scheveningen - Strand" from 1904 (140,000/180,000).

Marianne von Werefkin depicts the “abyss” in her coastal landscape of the same name from 1923 (100,000/150,000).

Alexej von Jawlensky's "Still Life with Flowers and Fruits" (200,000/250,000) appeals to the eye with rich flower colors as well as Ernst Wilhelm Nay's sweeping geometries "Figurale - Eta" from 1949 (150,000/200,000) with earth tones.

Two more of Nay's paintings are up for auction: "With a Green Pane", an example of his large-format "Documenta Pictures" from 1964 (250,000/350,000) and "Three Oranges" (180,000/240,000).

After Grisebach auctioned off a first tranche from the Adalbert and Thilda Colsman collection in 2016, part two is now following.

Among the sixty works is Emil Nolde's oil painting "Hohe See" with an estimate of one to 1.5 million euros, followed by "Christina", a portrait of Nolde's niece Christina Christensen (400,000/600,000).

Ewald Mataré is contributing the sculpture "Large Kneeling Cow" (100,000/150,000) to the auction.

Paul Cézanne's early drawing "Homme nu" (50,000/70,000) is one of the highlights in the 19th Century section.

Drawings by Max Klinger from the Fritz Tögel Collection, who acquired the works from the artist's estate (1000/10,000), will be presented.

“Saint Eustace” by Albrecht Dürer (40,000/80,000), on the other hand, is one of the most magnificent works by the Renaissance artist.

Grisebach is offering a print which, according to the dating, was made during the artist's lifetime or a little later.

The large-format pencil drawing "In der Kirche" by Adolph Menzel arouses even higher expectations at 60,000 to 80,000 euros.

It comes from the collection of the Berliner Sparkasse.

German neo-realism dominates among contemporaries, represented for example by Karin Kneffel's fruit still life "(F XXXVIII)" (150,000/200,000).

The self-portrait "Pierrot Lunaire - DER DANDY" from 1984 by Markus Lüpertz could set a record (60,000/80,000).

The photography auction is dedicated to American street photography pioneers with photographs by Bruce Davidson, Helen Levitt, Saul Leiter and Nicholas Nixon (1000/5000).

A total of 660 works of art with an average estimated price of 16 million euros will be auctioned off in six auctions at the summer auctions.