"In the 1950s, an important painter lived in Berlin whose paintings were not exhibited in any museum. Only in the studios of his friends at the time, Werner Stötzer, Manfred Böttcher, Harald Metzkes and others, could one later see his works during visits, which were touchingly impressive because the objects they depicted took on a metaphysical dimension in their obvious reality. There was no superficial desire for art, but an intensity that was conveyed by the simplest means, a power of modesty that had never been seen before. This painter's name was Ernst Schroeder and he had been banished from the art scene for a long time. His friends, however, remembered him with great respect. "
- MATTHIAS FLÜGGE -
In fact, Schroeder's paintings were not allowed to be shown publicly in the GDR for a long time, and it was not until 1986 that a small exhibition was organised in Neubrandenburg. The artist himself did not live to see the first extensive exhibition of his work, which took place in Altenburg, Berlin and Rostock in 1990: he died in Hamburg on 11 December 1989. As early as 1990, an Ernst Schroeder Society was founded, an association of artists, art historians, collectors and friends, which began to publicise Schroeder's work. Exhibitions were organised, works were placed in public collections and in 1996 Jörg Makarinus published a catalogue raisonné.
At the opening on Friday 5 December at 8 pm, Matthias Flügge, Rector of the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts, gave a speech.
The exhibition at the Leonhardi Museum featured 20 paintings and 25 drawings.
A catalogue was published to accompany the exhibition, which also includes an addendum to the catalogue raisonné.
