His father, Josef Feldbauer, served as the mayor of Neumarkt from 1868 to 1876. After his father and his five younger siblings had died, he and his mother moved to Munich. His first art lessons were at the
Kunstgewerbeschule. He then attended the private art school operated by
Simon Hollósy, where he was introduced to
Impressionism, and continued his studies at the
Academy of Fine Arts, Munich. His instructors there included
Otto Seitz,
Paul Hoecker and
Johann Caspar Herterich. In 1899, he married the painter, Elise Eigner, of
Schwandorf. From 1901 to 1915, he taught at the Academy of the (women artists' association). In 1908, he joined the Munich Secession. He also ran his own painting school, in Mitterndorf, near the
Dachau art colony, from 1912 to 1922. He left the Secession in 1913; becoming one of the founders of the , and served as a board member. In addition to all of these activities, he provided illustrations for
Die Jugend (Youth), a weekly arts magazine. After several trips through France and Italy, he settled near
Dachau. In 1916, he was appointed to teach at the (arts and crafts school) then, in 1918, to the
Dresden Academy of Fine Arts, where he served as President in 1928. After the
Nazis came to power in 1933, he was initially banned from exhibiting. He returned to Munich, but was bombed out of his home in 1944. Ironically, that same year, he was included on the "
Gottbegnadeten-Liste" (God given list) of artists who were considered crucial to Nazi culture. Unable to find another home, he moved to Oberschneiding, where he died four years later. His works may be seen at the
Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister,
Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen,
Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, and the
Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, among others. ==Selected paintings==