Max Slevogt

Max Slevogt biography

The painter and graphic artist Max Slevogt is among the most important representatives of German Impressionism. In the 1890s – after studying at the Academy in Munich and a semester studying at the Académie Julian in Paris, in 1889, as well as a journey through Italy – he exhibited his work in the rebellious Munich Secession, which had been founded in 1892.

In 1896 his drawings were published in the magazines “Jugend” and “Simplizissimus”. His artistic breakthrough came around the turn of the century, following his move to Berlin in 1901: at that time Slevogt developed his mature style, which found its culmination not least in the landscape paintings of the series of Godramstein, in the impressions from Egypt (1914) and in the Palatinate landscapes from his home in Neukastel. Slevogt’s lasting fascination with literature, music, opera and with the “stage” in general is also characteristic. In Berlin he created the famous stage portrait of his friend Francisco d’Andrade as Don Giovanni – the “Weiße d’Andrade” (White d’Andrade), in which Slevogt’s delicate interpretation of the almost monochromatic, glittering textures of colour and reflections of light unfold in a way typical of his work. His achievements as a portrait painter are remarkable; however, his work often exceeds the limits of a restrictive understanding of this genre. He occupied himself with stage design, costumes and also wall painting. His imagination was sparked by the great texts of world literature. His illustrations for the “Lederstrumpf” (Leatherstocking Tales; 1910) and the “Zauberflöte” (Magic Flute; 1919) would become legendary. In 1901 Slevogt was granted the title of professor in Munich; in 1915 he became a member of the Academy of Fine Art in Dresden, and in 1917 he was appointed to the Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin, where he became a member of its senate.