Ludwig von Hofmann

Jünglinge auf einen Felsen, 1917

Ludwig von Hofmann (1861-1945) was a German painter, graphic artist and designer. His works, spanning more than 60 years, combine elements of Symbolism with Art Nouveau, but are also influenced by other artistic movements of his time, from Historicism to New Objectivity. He was a pioneer of the New Weimar movement.

Hofmann was a son of the Prussian statesman Karl von Hofmann, Prime Minister of the Grand Duchy of Hesse (1872-1876), President of the Chancellery (1876-1879), Minister of the Interior of the German Empire (1879-1880), and Imperial Administrator of Alsace-Lorraine (1880-1887).

In 1883, von Hofmann began his studies at Akademie der bildenden Künste (Academy of Fine Arts in Dresden) and later moved to study under Ferdinand Keller at Kunstakademie Karlsruhe (Art Academy of Karlsruhe). In 1889 he studied at Académie Julian in Paris and was influenced by French artists such as Pierre Puvis de Chavannes and Paul-Albert Besnard.

Felsenufer mit Jünglingen, 1890

From 1890, von Hofmann worked as a freelance artist in Berlin. While in Berlin, he – with Jacob Alberts, Hans Herrmann, Walter Leistikow, George Mosson, Konrad Alexander Müller-Kurzwelly, Hugo Schnars-Alquist, Friedrich Stahl, Hugo Vogel – formed the Gruppe der Elf ("The Group of Eleven"). From 1894 to 1900, Hofmann traveled extensively and spending most of his time in Rome and at his villa near Florence. Throughout his life, his appreciation of antiquity and his attraction to the idea of Arcadia decisively influenced his work. From 1895, Hofmann contributed numerous illustrations to the most influential German journal of Art Nouveau "Pan". At the International Art Exhibition in Berlin in 1896 he received a gold medal for his work. From 1898 he was a member of the "Berlin Secession" art movement.

In 1903, he was appointed as a professor at Großherzoglich-Sächsische Kunstschule Weimar (Weimar Saxon Grand Ducal Art School), where he conversed with many representatives of the artistic and literary avant-garde in the circle of Harry Graf von Kessler and Henry van de Velde, becoming a pioneer of Kessler's "New Weimar" movement. His students in Weimar included Hans Arp and Ivo Hauptmann. Von Hofmann's father introduced him to the Nobel laureate Gerhart Hauptmann, which led to extensive correspondence and a shared trip to Greece in 1907. During this same period, von Hofmann collaborated with van de Velde on several building projects.

Reiter an südlicher Küste, c. 1920

With the onset of the First World War, Hofmann returned to Germany, taking a professorship at the Academy of Fine Arts in Dresden, where he succeeded Hermann Prell as instructor of monumental painting until 1931. In this period, von Hofmann designed the reading room of the National Library in Leipzig (1919). With Marcus Behmer he created illustrations for important works of poetry, including Leopold Ziegler's translation the Odyssey of Homer and Hirtenlied ("Shepherd's song") by Gerhart Hauptmann.

His overall production slackened through the 1920s and 1930s. After several of his works displayed in Efurt were condemned as "degenerate art" and destroyed by the Nazi Regime in 1937, von Hofmann retired to Pillnitz, near Dresden, where he died in 1945. Even though the Nazis had condemned some of von Hoffmann's works, others continued to be displayed in Germany throughout the Nazi period. His remaining works were almost confiscated by the Russians after the war, but his widow was able to save them.

Sources:

• Günther, Rolf. Der Symbolismus in Sachsen 1870–1920. Dresden: Sandstein Verlag, 2005.
• Thieme, Ulrich and Becker, Felix (editors). Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart. Volume 17. Leipzig: E. A. Seemann, 1924.
• Wagner, Annette and Wolbert, Klaus (editors). Ludwig von Hofmann (1861–1945). Arkadische Utopien in der Moderne. Darmstadt: Stadt Darmstadt, 2005.