Peter Schmersal (*1952 in Wuppertal) paints landscapes, flowers, still lifes, nudes, and portraits. Besides his own compositions, the artistic appropriation and processing of important materials from art history also play a major role in his oeuvre-for instance of works by Velazquez, Goya, or Georges de la Tour. Schmersal thus augments his own technical skills while following in the footsteps of painters such as Vincent van Gogh, Oskar Kokoschka, Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, and Frank Auerbach, all of whom tested the relevance of historical works of art for themselves. In his interpretations, Schmersal uses a powerful gesture to create something entirely new and altogether his own. At the same time, he discusses the changing task and position of painting.