The painter Harald Metzkes is dead. He died last Thursday at the age of 97 in Wegendorf in Brandenburg surrounded by his family. This was confirmed by his son, the sculptor Robert Metzkes, to the German Press Agency.
Harald Metzkes is also known as the "Cézannist" of Prenzlauer Berg in reference to his former place of residence. The artist, who grew up in the GDR, is one of the representatives of the "Berlin School of Painting". One of his most famous works is "The Removal of the Six-Armed Goddess", reported his son (72).
Metzkes became famous in the GDR because he had nothing to do with socialist realism. "He was not interested in implementing cultural-political demands," his son said.
Instead, he was inspired by famous painters such as Rembrandt and Velázquez. "And Paul Cézanne, my friend," the painter himself told the German Press Agency in his studio shortly before his 90th birthday. The Impressionist inspired him to use color, after he had almost given it up at the beginning.
During his time in the GDR, the painter was adamant about comedy, harlequins and circus scenes. These were motifs "which, as parables, offer the possibility of depicting reality in a translation", said his son.
