Claus Bertermann (1965) - Pianissimo

Artist: Claus Bertermann

OFFICIAL WEBSITE: www.bertermann.art

The story behind "Pianissimo"

She does not raise her voice. A woman with short dark hair looks straight at us, calm and upright, wearing rich jewellery: large flower earrings, an orange collar and a dark jacket embroidered with blossoms. Beside her, written by hand in red oil stick on the green background, are the words "En un mundo que grita, la calma es corona." In a world that shouts, calm is a crown.

On the left, the world is loud. Broad brushstrokes rush past her like a gust of wind and sweep a golden glow around her head, like a halo set in motion. She stays still, and that is her strength. In music, pianissimo means "very softly", and the softest note in a room is often the one everyone listens to. The painting is a tribute to the quiet strength of women: there is no crown painted here, because she already wears it.

About the artist

Claus Bertermann holds a Master's degree in Architecture (TU Munich) and is an internationally collected contemporary artist, with more than 1,000 large-format works in private and institutional collections, including a monumental triptych at the Technical University of Munich. His abstract paintings have reached top auction results such as €18,900 at C. h. r. i. s. t. i. e´s Paris and €15,240 at S. o. t. h. e. b. y´s Cologne, with further sales at V. a. n. H. a. m, A. r. t. c. u. r. i. a. l and D. o. r. o. t. h. e. u. m.

In 2026 he started a radically new figurative series: people and scenes in bold, emotional colour, inspired by German Expressionism. First he paints the background with loose, broad brushstrokes. Then he draws the figures on top with oil stick, in clear and confident lines.

Visual description

A frontal portrait of a woman with short dark hair, her face built from deep blue and light mint green, with red lips and a steady, direct gaze. She wears large orange and red flower earrings, an orange collar and a dark jacket with orange shoulders and embroidered blossoms. The background is deep blue on the left, crossed by sweeping strokes of ochre and light blue, and green on the right, where the Spanish sentence is written in red oil stick. Signed in black oil stick at the lower right.

One detail for those who look twice: the sweeping strokes on the left curve around her head like a halo in motion, and her mouth follows them, as if the noise of the world passes by while she keeps her calm.

Why it is worth the price

A large, museum-scale painting from the first year of a radically new figurative series, and one of the few works in it that carries a handwritten sentence on the canvas. The portrait meets you at eye level with real presence and a clear message: calm as a form of strength. It speaks to collectors of expressive contemporary portraiture, to lovers of Spain and its language, and to anyone who wants a confident tribute to women on their wall.

Key details for collectors

– Title: Pianissimo
– Year: 2026
– Dimensions (H x W): 150 x 200 cm (59 × 79 inches)
– Medium: Acrylic and oil stick on canvas
– Original, one-of-a-kind artwork
– Signed by the artist on the front and back side; title, year and the artist's full name inscribed on the back
– Certificate of authenticity included
– Condition: excellent; all surface irregularities are intentional and part of the artist's process
– Sold unframed and without stretcher bars; shipped rolled for safe international transport
– Additional white border of approx. 10 cm (approx. 4 inches) on all sides, allowing professional restretching on museum-quality stretcher bars up to 6 cm (approx. 2.4 inches) deep for a clean, frameless, gallery-style presentation
– Professional stretching is the responsibility of the buyer
– Professional packaging and worldwide shipping with premium carriers such as UPS

Please note regarding the room views:

Some of the photographs show the painting digitally placed in an interior. These room views are AI-visualisations, created to give an impression of scale and presence only — they are not photographs of the actual work hanging in a room. Both the size proportions and the colours shown in them may differ from the original. The binding references are the dimensions stated above (H x W) and the studio photograph of the painting itself. Please also note that colours may appear differently depending on screen calibration.