Werner Tübke – Master Painter between East and West

Werner Tübke (1929-2004) was one of the most important painters in the GDR (East- Germany).
He created a style similar to early renaissance painting. Some of these paintings are reminiscent of Jeroen Bosch.
Museum de Fundatie presented a large number of paintings, including the 15 meters long study of his panorama at a scale of 1:10 from Berlin National Gallery, based on his Magnum Opus Peasants’ War Panorama which has a size of 14 by 123 meters.
Another impressive painting is The Working Class And Intelligentsia for the Karl Marx Universtät in Leipzig.

As an artist, Tübke’s prominent position in the GDR has always been a source of controversy, despite his exquisite mastery. His traditional style and working approach also saw the avant-garde dismiss him as non-modern and therefore of little interest. Upon closer inspection however, his work reveals a very original artist indeed. An artist who within the context of an assignment chose to plough his own furrow. An artist fully autonomous in both his art and his social opinions. His depiction of the German Peasants’ War for example is no political pamphlet. Tübke painted a universal human drama; the disillusioned end to a utopia. If there is one striking lesson from history Tübke presents us with, it is that nothing ever appears to be learned. *)

He is one of the very few artists who gained recognition in West Germany.

It was however amazing how much detail and how many people, creatures and objects can be seen on those immense paintings. Certainly an exhibition that made a deep impression.

*) quote from Museum de Fundatie