Homme hakkan kunstnikuks : jutustus H. Zille elust

In this work, the East German writer Brigitte Birnbaum tells the story of the German graphic artist Heinrich Zille (1858–1929) and his path to becoming an artist. Having devoted himself to free graphic art only at a mature age—and in fact out of necessity, after losing his job as a lithographer—Zille nevertheless managed to become a member of the Prussian Academy of Arts. The main body of his work consists of realistic, at times satirical, drawings depicting the lives of Berlin’s poorer social classes.

The book is illustrated with reproductions of Heinrich Zille's drawings.