Rising Sun

This landscape is bright and striking in the light of the rising sun. Although the composition is asymmetrical - with the focal point of the sun off-centre to the right  - Pechstein shows us the true glory of nature. The trees are outlined and highlighted with a golden glare given off by the sun, and deep blue hills are woven with lush green grasses. The work is not completed in fine detail, but as an Expressionist, Pechstein’s goal would have been to communicate the feeling of this scene without the need for realistic minutiae.  The artist was heavily influenced by the work of Van Gogh, and the stark contrast between deep blue and yellow, as used by Van Gogh in “Starry Night”, is also used in this painting. Under the Nazi regime, Pechstein’s works were considered “degenerate”. The non-classical, loose style in which the artist has painted this landscape is exactly what the Nazis believed to be quintessentially “non-German”.