Johannes Grützke

Electric Drill, Chicken and Venetian Mask, 2015

Öl auf Leinwand Painting 40 × 60 cm

Price on request

This expressive still life brings together the tradition of the classical genre and a distinctly contemporary painterly language. At the center of the composition stands a chicken, surrounded by everyday kitchen utensils and an: drill bit. The vividly painted mask introduces an unexpected counterpoint, enriching the scene with poetic resonance and symbolic complexity.

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.

More works by Johannes Grützke
Electric Drill, Chicken and Venetian Mask – Hauptbild