Karl Hofer (also: Carl Hofer) counts among the most important German representatives of expressive Realism.
Karl Hofer, a student of Thoma, encountered works by Paul Cézanne in Paris, which left a deep impression on him behind, joined the 'Neue Künstlervereinigung München' [Munich New Artist's Association] in 1909, the group later became the 'Blaue Reiter' [The Blue Rider]. The painting and graphic oeuvre of Karl Hofer, which mediates between a subjective expressiveness and a factual objectivity in a very subtle manner, often show melancholically austere and yet haunting genre scenes, but also landscapes and still lifes. The vital early and central part of Karl Hofer's oeuvre was strongly depleted in an air raid in 1943, some 150 paintings and more than 1000 drawings fell victim to the attack.
Grand retrospectives in Berlin and Halle/Saale (1977/1978) as well as in Kreis Unna (1991), honored the first president of the re-established 'Deutsche Künstlerbund' [Association of German Artists]. His works can be viewed in important domestic and international museums.