The Painter of the Heath Born in Lüneburg, Wilhelm Feldmann began his life far from the grand academies, the son of a master locksmith. His path toward the arts was not a straight line, but a series of movements across the great German centers of learning. He first sought his training in Munich, entering the antiquities class at the Academy of Fine Arts in 1878. From there, his restless spirit led him to Karlsruhe, where he studied under Gustav Schönleber, and eventually to Berlin, where he spent four years refining his vision under Eugen Bracht. It was in these halls that he mastered the del…