A master of color and an ambitious cosmopolite: Hans Purrmann (1880–1966) was an authoritative figure who forged links in European modernism both as an artist and a personality, as a stylist and a figure of social integration. His paintings balance lightly between being a record of what he saw and a visual reflection of painting as a form of expression. As a young man, Purrmann encountered the latest movements of the art of his time in Munich and Berlin, but after moving to Paris he established contact with the avant-garde in the circle of artists at the Café du Dôme. He became a student and friend of Henri Matisse, with whom he went on to run an art school. Political events and the World Wars turned Purrmann into an artist who travelled through Europe and who drew his subjects from the beauties of the world in every location.

This volume presents a richly illustrated, full-color tour of the entirety of Purrman’s career, from his earliest works to his late masterpieces. It carefully situates Purrmann in the context of his times and contemporaries, and in doing so reminds us of his signal contribution to twentieth-century art.