VON HOFMANN, LUDWIG (1861-1945)

"Frauen am Abhang" (c.1920) 
etching
cm
signed lower right
*private collection, Sydney
 
Von Hofmann was a prominent German Symbolist, Graphic Artist, Designer & Degenerate. He began his studies in 1883 at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts, then studied with Ferdinand Keller at the Academy of Fine Arts, Karlsruhe. In 1889, he attended the Académie Julian in Paris, where he came under the influence of Pierre Puvis de Chavannes and Paul-Albert Besnard. He worked in a combination of the Art Nouveau and Symbolist styles. After 1895, he was a regular contributor of illustrations for the Art Nouveau magazine, Pan. In 1896, he became a member of the Berlin Secession and he was married in 1899. He was also a member of the Deutscher Künstlerbund. In 1903, he was appointed a Professor at the Weimar Saxon Grand Ducal Art School, where he became a member of the avant-garde literary and artistic group centered around Harry Graf Kessler. Jean Arp and Ivo Hauptmann were among his students. In 1916, he was named a Professor at the Academy in Dresden, where he remained until 1931. His work was part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1928 Summer Olympics. His remaining works were almost confiscated by the Russians after the war, but his widow managed to save them.