Bernard Schultze (1915-2005) - Untitled

Title:
Bernhard Schultze (1915–2005) – Untitled (Abstract Composition) – Six-Colour Offset Print after Watercolour – Zanders Art 1980


This detailed six-colour offset print is based on an original watercolour by the influential German painter Bernhard Schultze (1915–2005). Issued in 1980 by Zanders Feinpapier AG, Bergisch Gladbach, the work was part of the celebrated “Art Zanders” portfolio featuring contemporary artists. Schultze’s composition exemplifies his unique abstract language, developed over decades and rooted in the fantastical, surreal, and organic.

Rendered in swirling, multi-layered hues of yellow, red, green, and blue, the piece evokes a dreamlike landscape of flowing forms and imaginary topographies. It reflects Schultze’s signature “Migof” aesthetic—his term for the mysterious, hybrid life-forms inhabiting his pictorial universe—blurring the boundaries between figure, object, and environment. The luminous textures and dense impasto effect, even in print, attest to the expressive energy of the original watercolour.

Bernhard Schultze was a pivotal figure in post-war German art and a co-founder of the Quadriga group alongside Karl Otto Götz, Heinz Kreutz, and Otto Greis. His work is held in major collections, including the Städel Museum, Museum Ludwig, and Centre Pompidou. This edition also connects with the broader tendencies in Art Informel and lyrical abstraction, resonating with the work of contemporaries such as Jean Fautrier, Wols, Emil Schumacher, Hans Hartung, and later figures like Georg Baselitz, Sigmar Polke, and Gerhard Richter.

Slightly yellowing but not in the main print area. Print remains in very good condition.