The Great Indian

This man’s turban, opulent costume, and hand drum identify him as a performing artist with one of Berlin’s many ethnic entertainment troupes. That was probably how Max Pechstein met him. Pechstein was fascinated by foreign cultures and attended performances by Indian, African, and Native American acts. He also visited Berlin’s ethnographic museum to see African and Oceanic art. Pechstein admired non-European people, but his admiration was based on stereotypes he perpetuated in paintings like The Great Indian.