Franz Radziwill

He was inspired by the rugged northern German landscape, by his studies of Italian “pittura metafisica” and early Dutch paintings and also by several months working at Otto Dix's studio in Dresden. All this enabled him to develop his own characteristic style which combined a precise, naturalist rendering with a mystical and ominous atmosphere. His preferred subjects were landscapes, harbours and still lifes, often complemented by fantasy details. The horrors of the Second World War were turned by Radziwill into apocalyptic visions, and his late works were largely marked by an air of fairytale-like surrealism.