Wolfgang Mattheuer

Why this artist matters now

Wolfgang Mattheuer was a German painter, graphic artist and sculptor. Together with Werner Tübke and Bernhard Heisig he was a leading representative of the Leipzig School, a figurative art current in East Germany. He came to prominence with allegorical, pessimistic and sometimes heroic paintings which were accused of expressing political dissidence. He was later an open critic of both socialism and capitalism. He taught at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig (HGB) for many years. In 1974 he resigned from his position as professor at the HGB to work as a freelance painter. In 1988 he left the Socialist Unity Party of Germany.

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