Karl Mattern was born in Durkheim, Germany, on March 22, 1892. He studied at the Gymnasium in Germany, receiving art instruction there. During his time in the Gymnasium, he also developed life-long interests in history, languages, music and literature. After his father’s death, Mattern left Germany and traveled to New York where he spent two years doing odd jobs. He then traveled to Kansas to be with family friends. From Kansas, he moved to Denver where he was able to study painting for the first time. After a few years, he moved yet again, to Chicago, where he enrolled at the Chicago Art Institute. There he learned the techniques of drawing, painting and illustration taught in part by the artist George Bellows.