the life and works of sascha schneider - ETD - Louisiana State ...

Shortly after his exhibition, several life-changing events occurred. Schneider was
saddened to learn that his friend and mentor Leonhard Gey passed away. He was so
moved by this even that he created an etching titled “Grief” as homage to both his friend
and his emotion. Gey was one of the first positive male role models for Schneider after
the loss of his father to tuberculosis. It was painful to lose such an important and
supportive figure in his life.
Soon after learning of the death of his former professor, he was introduced to
fellow artist Max Klinger in 1895. Among the Leipzig artists, Klinger was one of the
best known and most influential. Though not a professional teacher, Klinger was known
for aiding and educating those in the art community. Schneider suffered from some harsh
criticism after his exhibition from those who thought that his work should mimic
Impressionism. Encouraging his new protégé, Klinger convinced Schneider to continue
his art in a decidedly more Symbolist direction, rather than adhere to the Impressionist
style that was popular. The two would form a close friendship that paid off for Schneider
several times throughout his life.
For Germans, Klinger was the quintessential Symbolist. His works were
unsettling, but not entirely pessimistic, and were couched in the German emphasis on
imagination and spirituality. Many extolled his work as that of a “pure German” whose
work carried on the traditions of German Romanticism and Idealism with a whim of
fancy. For Schneider, he instilled a sense of German idealist heritage through the usage
of traditional spiritualism, relying on the mystical tendencies of Romantic tradition rather
than an observational naturalism. Klinger was concerned with worldly relationships and
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