Adolf Hölzel was a German painter and art theorist who played a key role in the development of abstract painting. Hölzel's work developed from naturalistic and impressionistic approaches to an expressive and abstract style. In the 1890s he joined the Secession artists' group in Munich and in 1899 founded the artists' colony in Dachau, where he devoted himself more to landscape painting. From around 1910, Hölzel increasingly turned to abstract art. His works experimented with areas of color and geometric shapes.