Early Life and Artistic Training Hans Purrmann entered the world on 10 April 1880, in the German town of Speyer. His early years in this birthplace provided the foundation for a life dedicated to the visual arts. Before he ever sought the formal instruction of an academy, he learned the practicalities of his craft through an apprenticeship. He worked as a scene painter and an interior decorator, gaining a hands-on understanding of how color and space interact within a room or upon a stage. This early labor gave him a sense of discipline that would serve him well as he moved toward more rigo…