A Shift in Focus Wilhelm Holter began his path in a different way than the one that would define his life. He spent several years working as a lawyer before turning his attention to the canvas. His early training took him to Karlsruhe, where he studied landscape painting under Hans Gude. It was a quiet start, focused on the natural world, but a change in direction was coming. Under the influence of Carl Gussow, his interests shifted away from the horizon and toward the human form. He followed Gussow to Berlin in the fall of 1875, leaving the landscapes behind to pursue figure painting. By 187…