Erich Kissing

Erich Carl Kissing (born 27 September 1943) is a German painter known for his fantastic themes in combination with his high-precision glacing technique (Glaze). On 27 September 1943 Kissing and his twin sister were born in Leipzig. He has a brother six years his senior. Their father worked as a plumber and in other crafts. Their mother was a housewife. Kissing lives and works in the house his parents built in Leipzig in 1935.

At 14 Erich Kissing’s talent was discovered. From that time private drawing classes enhanced his abilities. After training to professionally retouch offset-prints he turned to study art in his hometown Leipzig from 1965 till 1970. During his studies at Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst under the hands of his teachers Hans Mayer-Foreyt and Werner Tübke he became an exquisite painter (Feinmalerei). His modern art is part of the Realist artistic movement “Leipzig School”.

The characteristic style of his paintings results from his high-precision glazing technique which consists of several layers. To complete a painting he works on it for months on end. His themes are romantic and mystical sometimes bizarre but his style remains invariantly realistic. One of his most memorable motifs is the recurring hedonistic centaur.

“Sommertag” picture link (2007–09) is the present high point of his art. It captivates the observer via Kissing’s characteristic objectivity, its large format and its reference to Diego Velázquez “The Triumph of Bacchus” (“Los Borrachos”, 1628–29).