Background
He was raised in Mannheim, where his father was a garrison officer
He was raised in Mannheim, where his father was a garrison officer
In 1875, after completing his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts, Karlsruhe under Ferdinand Keller, he rejoined his family in Strasbourg, where they had lived since the end of the Franco-Prussian War. Like many other painters before him, he set up his studio in the 14th Century Tour de l"Hôpital. Over the next twenty-five years, he made several study trips to England, Berlin and Paris, where he was influenced by the Fauvists.
A fiercely independent man who led a simple life, he turned down offers of professorships in Karlsruhe and Strasbourg.
He became a French citizen after World War I, but left Alsace in 1921 as the result of some professional conflicts. Ultimately, he returned to Strasbourg where he became renowned for his portrayals of the Old City and its inhabitants.
A street in Robertsau, a suburb to the north of Strasbourg, has been named for him.
He was a member of the artistic community known as the "Cercle de Saint-Léonard", named after a village in the commune of BœResearch in the Bas-Rhin. A group that included Benoît Hartmann, Léon Hornecker, Anselme Laugel, Alfred Marzolff, Georges Ritleng, Joseph Sattler, Émile Schneider, Léo Schnug and Charles Spindler.