Ludwig Meidner was a German expressionist

Expressionism

Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...

 painter and printmaker born in Bernstadt

Bernstadt

Bernstadt may refer to:*Bernstadt auf dem Eigen, a town in Saxony, Germany*Bernstadt , a municipality in Baden-Württemberg, Germany*East Bernstadt, Kentucky, a place in Kentucky, United States...

, Silesia

Silesia

Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...

. He was apprenticed to a stonemason, but the apprenticeship was not completed. He studied at the Royal School of Art in Breslau and, from 1906-07 at the Julien

Académie Julian

The Académie Julian was an art school in Paris, France.Rodolphe Julian established the Académie Julian in 1868 at the Passage des Panoramas, as a private studio school for art students. The Académie Julian not only prepared students to the exams at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts, but offered...

 and Cormon Academies in Paris where he met and became friends with Amedeo Modigliani

Amedeo Modigliani

Amedeo Clemente Modigliani was an Italian painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. Primarily a figurative artist, he became known for paintings and sculptures in a modern style characterized by mask-like faces and elongation of form...

. He returned to Berlin to work as a fashion illustrator and produced realistic if uninspired views of Berlin.

In 1912 he began a series of paintings which marked a radical departure in style and would make his reputation.