Max Slevogt (German, 1868–1932) was an Impressionist painter, printmaker, and illustrator best known for his landscapes painted
en plein air. He began his career in Munich, Germany, studying at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste from 1885 to 1889. Impressed by an exhibition in Holland that featured the work of
Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669), Slevogt developed a strong interest in Dutch painting. In his early work, Slevogt adopted a dark and dramatic palette in the Munich style of
Wilhelm Trübner (German, 1851–1917),
Wilhelm Leibl (German, 1844–1900), and
Arnold Böcklin (Swiss, 1827–1901). In 1889, Slevogt traveled to Paris, where he studied at the Académie Julian. Exposed to the work of
Jean François Millet (French, 1814–1875),
Gustave Courbet (French, 1819–1877), and
Édouard Manet (French, 1832–1883), Slevogt began using a lighter palette and heavier, thicker applications of paint. He exhibited with Paul Cassirer at the Prussian Academy of the Arts in Berlin, and in 1900 represented Germany at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. Back in Germany, the artist was nominated as a professor at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Munich and a member of the Royal Academy of Arts in Berlin. Together with
Lovis Corinth (German, 1858–1925) and
Max Liebermann (German, 1847–1935), Slevogt is considered one of the most important German Impressionists. His late Impressionist style, which was influenced by the earlier movements of Symbolism and Art Nouveau, anticipated the beginning of Expressionism in Germany. Slevogt’s work is held by several museum collections, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, The Art Institute of Chicago, and at the Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt in Germany.