Max Klinger

1857 – 1920

German painter, sculptor, and etcher, known for his use of symbol, fantasy, and dreams. Before 1886 he produced cycles of original and somewhat morbidly imaginative etchings, such as Deliverances of Sacrificial Victims Told in Ovid and Brahms-Phantasie. From 1886 to 1894 Klinger devoted himself primarily to painting, usually on a grandiose scale. Among his paintings are Judgment of Paris and Christ on Olympus (both: Vienna). After 1894 he worked predominantly in sculpture, his most successful medium. Notable examples are Salome, Cassandra, and the dramatic polychrome statue of Beethoven (all: Leipzig) and the bust of Nietzsche (Weimar). Klinger had a deep influence on Edvard Munch, Max Ernst, and Giorgio de Chirico. He died in 1920.

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