188 - Ludwig von Hofmann

Ludwig von Hofmann 1861 Darmstadt – 1945 Pillnitz – "Two Horsemen" – (1920) Woodcut on paper. 30.4 x 39.7 cm, 33.5 x 42 cm (mat cutout). 49 x 57 cm (dimensions with frame). Signed lower right: L. v. Hofmann. Mat. Framed under glass. Lightly discolored edges. Slightly browned. Ludwig von Hofmann was a German painter, graphic artist, and designer. His works combine elements of Symbolism with Art Nouveau and are also influenced by other artistic movements of his time. After studying under F. Keller at the Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe, he worked as a freelance artist in Berlin beginning in 1890 and was a member of the “Group of Eleven” (along with Max Klinger, Max Liebermann, and others). From 1898 onward, he was a member of the “Berlin Secession”. Among Hofmann’s admirers and collectors of his works were the Austro-Hungarian Empress Elisabeth, the banker and prominent patron August Freiherr von der Heydt, the publisher Rudolf Mosse, and the art historians Heinrich Wölfflin and Wilhelm von Bode. In 1898, Rainer Maria Rilke dedicated the poetry cycle “Die Bilder entlang” to him.