Max Klinger

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Klinger, Max (1857–1920). German painter, sculptor, and graphic artist, born in Leipzig. He studied at the Academies of Karlsruhe and Berlin, then after brief periods in Brussels, Berlin, and Munich he spent the years 1883–6 in Paris, 1886–8 in Berlin, and 1888–93 in Rome. After his return to Germany in 1893 he settled in Leipzig, where his home was one of the centres of the city's cultural life. His work reveals a powerful imagination and an often morbid interest in themes of love and death. As a painter he is best known for the enormous Judgement of Paris (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, 1885–7), in which the frame is part of the decorative scheme. As a sculptor he experimented with polychromy, culminating in his statue of Beethoven (Museum der Bildenden Künste, Leipzig, 1899–1902), in white and coloured marbles, bronze, alabaster, and ivory. It is a graphic artist, however, that Klinger is now best known and that he most clearly showed his originality, especially in his series Adventures of a Glove, a grotesque exploration of fetishism that antedated the publication of Freud's theories. His drawings for this were exhibited in Berlin in 1887 when he was only 21 and made a great impact; the etchings that he made from them (three series, beginning in 1881) were widely influential. The series concerns a hapless young man and his involvement with an elusive lost glove that has clearly sexual connotations. This and other works of Klinger have been seen as forerunners of Surrealism, and his influence is clearly seen in the work of de Chirico (one of his greatest admirers), Dalí, and Ernst, amongst others.

Klinger, Max (b Leipzig, 18 Feb. 1857; d Grossjena, nr. Naumburg, 5 July 1920). German painter, sculptor, and printmaker. He studied in Karlsruhe and Berlin, then, after brief periods in Brussels, Berlin, and Munich, he spent the years 1883–6 in Paris, 1886–8 in Berlin, and 1888–93 in Rome. After his return to Germany in 1893 he settled in his native Leipzig, where his home became one of the centres of the city's cultural life. His work reveals a powerful imagination and an often morbid interest in themes of love and death. As a painter he is best known for his enormous Judgement of Paris (1885–7, KH Mus., Vienna), in which the frame is part of the decorative scheme. As a sculptor he experimented with polychromy in the manner of Greek chryselephantine statues; the culmination was his statue of Beethoven (1899–1902, Mus. der Bildenden Künste, Leipzig) in white and coloured marbles, bronze, alabaster, and ivory. It is as a printmaker, however, that Klinger is now best known and most clearly showed his originality, especially in Adventures of a Glove (three series, begun 1881), a grotesque exploration of fetishism that antedated the publication of Freud's theories. These etchings concern a hapless young man and his involvement with an elusive lost glove that has clearly sexual connotations. Together with other works of Klinger, they have been claimed as forerunners of Surrealism, and his influence can be seen in the work of de Chirico (one of his greatest admirers), Dalí, and Ernst, amongst others.

Klinger, Max (1857–1920). German painter, sculptor, and printmaker. He studied in Karlsruhe and Berlin, then after brief periods in Brussels, Berlin, and Munich, he spent the years 1883–6 in Paris, 1886–8 in Berlin, and 1888–93 in Rome. After his return to Germany in 1893 he settled in his native Leipzig, where his home became one of the centres of the city's cultural life. His work reveals a powerful imagination and an often morbid interest in themes of love and death. As a painter he is best known for his enormous Judgement of Paris (1885–7, KH Mus., Vienna), in which the frame is part of the decorative scheme. As a sculptor he experimented with polychromy in the manner of Greek chryselephantine statues; the culmination was his statue of Beethoven (1899–1902, Mus. der Bildenden Künste, Leipzig) in white and coloured marbles, bronze, alabaster, and ivory. It is as a printmaker, however, that Klinger is now best known and most clearly showed his originality, especially in Adventures of a Glove (3 series, begun 1881), a grotesque exploration of fetishism that antedated the publication of Freud's theories. These etchings concern a hapless young man and his involvement with an elusive lost glove that has clearly sexual connotations. Together with other works of Klinger, they have been claimed as forerunners of Surrealism, and his influence can be seen in the work of de Chirico (one of his greatest admirers), Dalí, and Ernst, amongst others.

Max Klinger , 1857–1920, German painter, sculptor, and etcher. 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 polychromed statue of Beethoven (all: Leipzig) and the bust of Nietzsche (Weimar).