Wilhelm Leibl

Wilhelm Leibl (1844-1900), German painter, whose detailed, realistic pictures of Bavarian peasant life provided an alternative both to Salon academicism and impressionism. Influenced by the French realist Gustave Courbet and by the work of old masters such as Hans Holbein the Younger, Leibl concentrated on faithful representations—portraits and genre scenes—characterized by warm colors and close attention to detail. He was the leader of the so-called Leibl Circle, a group of Bavarian artists with the same aims as his own.