The Painter’s Hidden Masterpiece - A Talk by Simon Lake

Event Description

A talk on the life and art of German painter Johannes Matthaeus Koelz.

A talk on the life and art of German painter, Johannes Matthaeus Koelz, born in 1895.

He fought in the First World War and won the Iron Cross, before following his first dream of becoming an artist, taking up a place at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts.

Against a backdrop of the rise of Fascism in Hitler’s Germany, Koelz painted a secret anti-war painting. Giant in size, the painting crystallised his horror of war, and was called ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’, only known to his immediate family and trusted friends. In 1937, facing imminent arrest, Koelz was forced to dismember his secret masterpiece, cutting it into pieces which were hidden, before fleeing into exile across the mountain border with Austria, along with his young family. Arriving in England on the eve of WW2, Koelz faced further injustice when he was interned and sent to Australia on board the infamous troopship Dunera.

Find out more on this incredible story, in an illustrated talk by Leicester-based art historian Simon Lake.

Simon will also be signing copies of his book on the artist, ‘The Painter’s Hidden Masterpiece’.

Tickets cost £4.50 per person.

Advance booking recommended.

Image: 'Thou Shalt Not Kill', oil on wood panels, 1930-37. (Reconstruction).

The image of the triptych reconstruction from Leicester Museums & Galleries, Copyright Koelz Estate.

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