154 - HARALD METZKES

HARALD METZKES (1929 Bautzen – 2026 Wegendorf) Studio Still Life, 1985 Oil on canvas. 70 x 120 cm. Framed. Signed and dated (19)85 in the upper right corner. Provenance: Private collection, Berlin Harald Metzkes first completed an apprenticeship as a stonemason and then studied painting in Dresden before becoming a master student under Otto Nagel in Berlin and co-founding the “Berlin School of Painting.” Despite the ideological constraints in the GDR, he remained true to his own artistic vision and to figurative painting. With his narrative scenes, precisely composed figures, and a subtle, often ironic visual language, he is considered one of the defining figures of figurative painting. Still lifes are an integral part of Metzke’s oeuvre; the apple, in particular, appears time and again as a motif in his works of art. In our large-format studio still life, the fruits are not depicted in isolation but are arranged alongside other everyday objects on a table in the artist’s studio. Perspectively, the viewer looks down from above at the objects arranged on the table. Painted in a realistic style with earthy, muted tones, Metzke has chosen the apples as the focal point of his still life. “Working from nature is not a mere aid; it serves to objectify the imagination. There is hardly a better way to learn to understand space than by painting a few apples lying a hand’s breadth apart. The eye, glancing back and forth between the painting and nature, becomes increasingly aware of the enigmatic nature of phenomena the longer it returns from the painting to nature.” (Metzkes 1976)