Exchange among Artists

Ludwig von Hofmann was an artist who was well connected in national circles of artists, collectors, and intellectuals. Hofmann's admirers and collectors of his works included the Austro-Hungarian Empress Elisabeth, the banker and important patron of the arts August Freiherr von der Heydt, the publisher Rudolf Mosse, and the art historians Heinrich Wölfflin and Wilhelm von Bode. In 1898, Rainer Maria Rilke dedicated the cycle of poems Die Bilder entlang (inspired by Hofmann's drawings) to Hofmann. Hofmann had previously provided illustrations for Rilke's cycle of poems Lieder der Mädchen (Songs of the Girls). Thomas Mann also admired Hofmann and incorporated impressions of Hofmann's work into his novel The Magic Mountain. Hugo von Hofmannsthal wrote a foreword to Hofmann's portfolio of graphic works Tänze (Dances) in 1905.

In 1903, he was appointed professor at the Grand Ducal School of Art in Weimar, where he associated with many representatives of the artistic and literary avant-garde and became a pioneer of Kessler's New Weimar movement. His students in Weimar included Hans Arp and Ivo Hauptmann. Hofmann worked with van de Velde on several architectural projects.