Hermann Urban

Born the son of a German dentist and the French-Creole opera singer Alice Fleury, Urban came to Bad Aibling in 1867, still a toddler, where he grew up with his grandparents. The painters Wilhelm Leibl and Ernst Zimmermann recognised his talent and encouraged Urban to study painting. From 16 April 1885 Urban studied at the Royal Academy of Arts in Munich under Johann Caspar Herterich and Wilhelm von Diez. Together with Max Doerner, Hans Anetsberger, Bruno Paul Hetze and Hans Rossmann, Urban occupied himself with landscape painting in Neubeuern. This group of artists later founded the Törwang painters' colony. In 1886 Urban opened his first studio in Munich's Amalienstraße. In 1890 Franz von Lenbach visited Urban in his studio. Urban spent the period from 1892 to 1894 in Italy, and in 1894 he became a pupil of Arnold Böcklin in Florence. In 1897 Urban became a member of the Luitpold group. In 1908 Urban was appointed professor honoris causa by Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria. In 1914 Urban visited Egypt. In 1918 he was elected chairman of the artists' council in Munich. In 1944, his Munich studio was destroyed as a result of an air raid and many works were destroyed or stolen. Urban moved to Bad Aibling.