A master of the expressionist portrait, Ludwig Meidner (1884-1966) painted numerous portraits during the 1910s and '20s of his many acquaintances in German-Jewish intellectual circles, evidencing his broad literary and artistic networks. This book brings them all vividly together to offer a full picture of Meidner's life and influences. Ludwig Meidner: Encounters examines Meidner's portraits during this period and reveals the many writers, musicians, and fellow artists who were his friends during the years before and during the Weimar Republic. Among the two hundred color plates included are portraits of such significant figures as Leo Baeck, Bella Chagall, Max Herrmann-Neisse, and Max Reinhardt. The selected works reveal the impressive breadth of the scope of Meidner's work and are essential for understanding his oeuvre as a whole.