Ursula Mattheuer-Neustädt and Wolfgang Mattheuer biography

born on 10 July as Ursula Neustädt in Plauen (Vogtland)

born on 7 April in Reichenbach (Vogtland)

Apprenticeship as a lithographer at Carl Werner in Reichenbach, until 1944

Interruption of his schooling in Plauen; forced conscription into the arms industry

after the war, she initially carried out clearance work in Plauen and worked as a pharmacy assistant, then completed her school-leaving qualifications (Abitur)

Enrolled at the Staatliche Bauhochschule Weimar, specialising in architecture

Work placement as a joiner and carpenter

Training with the Mountain Infantry in Salzburg until February

Wounded whilst serving on the front line in Slovenia during the war and admitted to a military hospital in Prague

Taken prisoner of war in Russia, escaped and returned to Reichenbach

from October, attended the Kunstgewerbeschule Leipzig, until 1947

Travelling to the Western Occupation Zone

Studied at the Akademie der grafischen Künste und Buchgewerbe (later the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig) under Professors Egon Pruggmayer, Walter Arnold and Elisabeth Voigt; graduated with a diploma in 1951

Studied at the Akademie der grafischen Künste und Buchgewerbe (later the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig) under Professors Egon Pruggmayer, Elisabeth Voigt, Walter Arnold and Max Schwimmer; graduated with a diploma in 1952

Visiting student at the University of Leipzig under Ernst Bloch, Hans Mayer and Johannes Jahn, until 1952

Members of the Verband bildender Künstler Deutschlands (VBKD), later the VBK of the GDR

freelance work as an illustrator, artist and author

Worked in Berlin as a graphic designer at the Illustrierte Rundschau

Wedding in September in Leipzig

Participation in the exhibition ‘Women Artists of Our Time’ at the Städtische Kunstsammlung Karl-Marx-Stadt (now Chemnitz)

Assistant post in Leipzig at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst, in the Department of Type Design

Work as a book designer for publishers, including creating illustrations

Moving into the shared flat in the Hauptmannstraße 1, Leipzig

Lectureship at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst

Participated in the ‘4th German Art Exhibition’ in Dresden

At the VBK, he moved to the Painting Section

First solo exhibition at the Galerie Engewald, Leipzig

honoured with the ‘Most Beautiful Books’ award for book design (also in 1962, 1965 and 1973)

first solo exhibition at the Galerie Engewald, Leipzig

Teaching at the Evening School of the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst, until 1964

Study trip to the Black Sea

Exhibition at the Staatliches Lindenau-Museum in Altenburg, under the direction of Dieter Gleisberg

Award of two silver medals at the International Book Art Exhibition in Leipzig for lithographs based on Bertolt Brecht’s ‘Mother Courage’ and participation in the Shakespeare competition

Professor at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst, until 1974

Met Inge Gohrisch (Inge Brüx) in 1963; birth of their son Richard Gohrisch (Richard Brüx)

Study trip to the Soviet Union

Exhibition at the Bunte Stube, Ahrenshoop, organised by the Kupferstichkabinett of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Publication: ‘Georg Maurer. The Elements’, featuring eleven lithographs by Mattheuer-Neustädt, is published

Leipzig City Art Prize

At the Deutsches Theater in Berlin (East), Mattheuer-Neustädt is designing the costumes and Mattheuer the set designs for the production of ‘Mr Pansa’s Neighbour’ by Günter Rücker

A comprehensive exhibition at the Staatliches Museum Schwerin

Leipzig City Art Prize

Exhibition at the Kulturbundhaus in Plauen, Vogtland

GDR Art Prize

Resigned from teaching at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst for personal reasons

GDR National Prize for Art and Literature, Second Class

Lothar Lang’s monograph

‘Wolfgang Mattheuer’ is published

Participation in numerous national and international exhibitions

Surveillance by the East German State Security Service

In his book ‘Studio Talks’, Henry Schumann publishes his conversation with Ursula Mattheuer-Neustädt (1975)

Exhibition at the Galerie des Palastes der Republik featuring the painting ‘Good Afternoon’

Trip to Mexico, exhibition at the J.C. Orozco Gallery in Mexico City, followed by a visit to Amsterdam, trip to Hamburg for the William Turner exhibition

Retrospective at the Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig

The publication ‘Georg Maurer: Under the Mulberry Tree’, featuring lithographs, ‘Dialogues’ by Mattheuer-Neustädt and a text by Heinz Schönemann, is to be published by Reclam Verlag

Exhibition at the Staatliches Lindenau-Museum in Altenburg, catalogue including a catalogue raisonné of prints

Invitation to and participation in ‘documenta 6’ in Kassel

A journey lasting several weeks through the Federal Republic of Germany

Major retrospective at the Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig

Study trips to Sweden and Switzerland

First essay, ‘Images as a Message – The Message of Images: The Case of Wolfgang Mattheuer’, is being finalised

Participation in exhibitions in Tokyo and Paris

Study trip to Italy (Umbria and Assisi)

Participation in the 41st Venice Biennale

Exhibition at the Sammlung Ludwig in Oberhausen

GDR National Prize for Art and Literature

An essay ‘Attempting to Convey Something About W.M. And the Process of Creating Images’ appears as part of a portfolio of prints to mark his 60th birthday

Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig exhibits prints from the Hartmut Koch Collection

Revised catalogue raisonné of prints is published

Honorary citizens of the town of Reichenbach

Exhibition at the Robert-Schumann-Haus, Galerie am Dom, Zwickau

a major retrospective at the Altes Museum of the Staatlichen Museen in Berlin (East)

Study trip to New York to coincide with an exhibition of his works at the Prakapas Gallery

Taking part in the Monday demonstrations in Leipzig

Founding member of the Kulturstiftung Leipzig and the Galerie für zeitgenössische Kunst Leipzig

The second essay, ‘Images as a Message – The Message of Images: The Case of Wolfgang Mattheuer’, is being finalised

Awarded the Cross of Merit, First Class, of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

End of collaboration with Galerie Brusberg; start of collaboration with Galerie Schwind, Frankfurt am Main and Leipzig

Walter Jens’ book ‘Der Untergang’, featuring drawings by Mattheuer, is awarded the title of ‘Most Beautiful Book’

Exhibition at Galerie Schwind, Frankfurt am Main

Exhibition: ‘Graphic Arts Retrospective 1948–1997’, offering insights into Hartmut Koch’s collection at the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz

The publication ‘Voices: Drawings and Poems’ is being published by Edition Galerie Schwind

Exhibition at Galerie Schwind, Frankfurt am Main; Kunstverein Coburg and Villa Wessel, Iserlohn

Retrospective at the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz, marking the donation of Hartmut Koch’s body of print work to the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz

Died on 7 April in Leipzig

Numerous exhibitions and the posthumous award of the City of Leipzig’s Medal of Honour in his memory

The publication ‘From My Time. Diary Entries and Other Notes’ is to be published

Exhibitions at the Malzhaus Gallery, Plauen; the Galerie Schwind, Leipzig; and the Kunsthalle Vogtland, Reichenbach

The artist has established the Ursula Mattheuer-Neustädt und Wolfgang Mattheuer Stiftung, based at 1 Hauptmannstraße

Exhibition at the Kunst Haus Apolda Avantgarde

Exhibition at the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz

Exhibition at the Kunstverein Schloss Willigard

The publication ‘The Image of the Poets. Ursula Mattheuer-Neustädt and Wolfgang Mattheuer – Their Poets, Their Books’ is being published by Faber & Faber Leipzig

Exhibition at the Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz to mark a donation by Ursula Mattheuer-Neustädt

Retrospective exhibition at the Kunsthalle Rostock and the Museum de Fundatie, Zwolle

Publication of the catalogue raisonné of paintings 1950–2003, ‘Wolfgang Mattheuer. Images as a Message’ at Edition Galerie Schwind

Died on 13 March in Leipzig

Works by Ursula Mattheuer-Neustädt can be found in museums in Altenburg, Berlin, Chemnitz, Dresden, Frankfurt/Oder, Gera, Halle/Saale, Jena, Leipzig, Rostock, Rudolstadt, Schwerin and Weimar, as well as in public and private collections both in Germany and abroad.

Works by Wolfgang Mattheuer can be found in museums in Aachen, Ahrenshoop, Altenburg, Augsburg, Bad Frankenhausen, Berlin, Beeskow, Bonn, Budapest, Chemnitz, Dresden, Erfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt (Oder), Halle (Saale), Hanover, Cologne, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Mannheim, Munich, Nuremberg, Beijing, Plauen, Potsdam, Schwerin, St Petersburg, Weimar, Vienna and Würzburg, as well as in public and private collections both in Germany and abroad.