Born to a wealthy and art educated family, Wols moved to Dresden and discovered photography. On Moholy-Nagy’s recommendation, he moved to Paris and began working as a photographer. Here he befriended Léger and Ernst. After being interned near Aix-en-Provence, he managed to flee and hide in Cassis, where he produced watercolour paintings depicting the life in the camps. He developed his Tauchism style, also influenced by his encounter with Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and the Existentialism philosophy. Tragically he died at 38 due to long standing health complications.