Education
After graduating from the Wilhelmsgymnasium in 1888, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts from 1891 to 1896 with Ludwig von Löfftz and Paul Hoecker and exhibited with several art societies at the Glaspalast.
After graduating from the Wilhelmsgymnasium in 1888, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts from 1891 to 1896 with Ludwig von Löfftz and Paul Hoecker and exhibited with several art societies at the Glaspalast.
He specialized in scenes with horses and riders. He was then appointed a Professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, succeeding Wilhelm von Diez. In 1922, following the retirement of Heinrich von Zügel, Jank succeeded him as Professor of Animal Painting.
Later, he was elected first Chairman of the "Association of Visual Artists" and presided over their exhibitions at the Glaspalast.
Foreign many years, he was also employed as an illustrator for the magazines Jugend and Simplicissimus. An affair with the painter, Marie Schnür, produced a son named Klaus.
Schnür later entered into a marriage of convenience with Franz Marc to provide legitimacy for the boy. In addition to his canvases, he painted murals at the Justizpalast and scenes from history at the Reichstag building in Berlin.
Among his best-known students were Louis Grell, Erma Bossi, Nina Arbore, Franz Xaver Stahl (also an animal painter), Henryk Gotlib, Käte Lassen and Adolf Ziegler.
In 1898, he had his first showing with members of the Munich Secession.