Johannes Maximilian Avenarius (1887-1954) was a painter, graphic artist, and sculptor, but also a novelist, storyteller, and poet. He was friends with many artists, but primarily saw himself as a "vassal" and "paladin" of Gerhart Hauptmann. Avenarius created the monumental frescoes in the "Paradise Hall" of the Wiesenstein house in Agnetendorf, Hauptmann's residence in the Silesian Giant Mountains. In the city of Görlitz, he met his first wife and became involved in establishing a Gerhart Hauptmann Museum after World War II. He is buried in Görlitz, in the Nikolaifriedhof, not far from Jakob Böhme. The Avenarius researcher Christian Henke explores the passions and encounters of the artist in Görlitz in this richly illustrated volume and traces his life path through four epochs of German history.