About the Artist Johannes Grützke

Johannes Grützke (1937–2017) was a German painter, draughtsman, and printmaker, and one of the leading representatives of figurative painting in post-war Germany.

He studied at the Berlin University of the Arts (Hochschule für Bildende Künste Berlin) from 1957 to 1964 and, in 1973, co-founded the Schule der Neuen Prächtigkeit ("School of New Splendour") with Matthias Koeppel and Manfred Bluth, a group that consciously opposed the dominance of abstraction.

Grützke's work combines Old Master painting techniques with an expressive, often grotesque visual language. His paintings are distinguished by their psychological depth, ironic wit, and critical engagement with social and historical themes. Alongside portraits and self-portraits, he produced numerous large-scale history paintings and public commissions, including the monumental cycle Der Zug der Volksvertreter (The Procession of the People's Representatives) for the German Reichstag in Berlin.

From 1992 to 2002, Grützke served as Professor of Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Nuremberg. His works are held in numerous public and private collections.