Calm northern German landscape views, animal scenes featuring cows, horses, and sheep in the Elbe marshes, as well as rural interiors and children's portraits, are the favored subjects of the naturalistic plein air painter Thomas Herbst (1848-1915). As a virtuoso colorist, he captures his themes in a tonal palette with more intense colors. Artistically, he is close to the German Impressionists, such as Max Liebermann, who in 1909 wrote about his fellow artist to the two-affectionate director of the Hamburg art halls, Alfred Lichtwark: "For my artistic education, I owe the most to my contemporaries, especially the influence of my friend Thomas Herbst.".