Hans Thoma (German, 1839-1924)

Hans Thoma was a German artist who started his career as a landscape painter. He drew inspiration from his roots in the Black Forest. Thoma travelled extensively and in 1868 spent time in Paris where he was heavily influenced by Courbet. Upon his return to Germany he concentrated on figurative painting. In 1882 he received a commission to paint frescoes depicting Wagnerian operas for the Frankfurt based architect Simon Ravenstein. From 1899, he was the director of the the Karlsruhe gallery which now holds a large collection of his works.