Werner Holz grew up in Hettenleidelheim, in the Pfalz region of Germany.

After his apprenticeship as a typographer, he studied graphic design in Mainz, Munich and Mannheim, Germany. He worked as a freelance fine artist in Frankenthal and Herxheim am Berg, Germany.

Important study trips took him to Bruegge, Gent, Belgium and Venice, Italy.

His very detailed old master technique was inspired by Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Breugel, the Elder.

Neomanneristic fantasies and visionary realms, painted sometimes with a single hair marten brush distinguish the style of Werner Holz.

He falls into the category of Fantastic and Magic Realism.

But he saw himself part of a broader movement- Der Malerei des Phantastischen.

The Fine Art of the Imaginary has been present through all centuries.

His work is shown in many national and international galleries and is part of private and public collections.

The conservative humanist and moralist Werner Holz was genuinely fascinated by foolishness as a counterpoint to ratio and insight.

The jester, depicted with or without cap and bell, is the main figure in his paintings and drawings.

As a narcissitic being, who walks carelessly next to the abyss, he turns into a self destructive device. Very often the jester symbolizes  animalistic lust that leads to mental and spirituell decline.

Sometimes he is painted as a wise man who realizes and accepts his destiny and strives for redemption.

Werner Holz once wrote:

"Maybe one can understand my paintings as "peep holes" into a world of the unspeakable, into a world, where the lightness of thought take visual form, without the limitation of the ordinary."

"Those, who want to  perceive and understand my paintings, need to leave their every day routine behind and try to approach my work of symbols, figures and dreams with utmost care and patience."

 

 

Work and collections,

are listed in the link above.