The Story of My Life — Volume 02

A memoir of childhood and early manhood recalls formative years in a lively Berlin neighborhood, detailing visits to artists' studios, early experience as a child model, and close encounters with painters, sculptors, clergy, and other notable neighbors. The narrator sketches vivid portraits of individual personalities and the ways their temperaments and practices shaped his impressions, while tracing how social and political conversations in the household and community influenced youthful views. Reflective connections are drawn between these memories and later creative work, emphasizing the cultural atmosphere that nurtured artistic interests and ambitions.