Michael Triegel

Michael Triegel was born in 1968 in Erfurt, Germany. He is a painter, illustrator and graphic artist based in Leipzig. He studied painting and graphic art under Arno Rink at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst Leipzig from 1990 to 1995. His paintings are highly influenced by Renaissance art. He is a key representative of the “New Leipzig School.” He is best known for his portraits, including, famously, a portrait of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in 2010. Born in East Germany in 1968, he came of age under a politicized system of art training that expected unconditional obedience to communist ideology and propaganda. After the end of the Cold War when he could travel and work without impediments, Triegel’s attention turned to investigating the relevance of religious iconography in the 21st century. After having done various commissions for Catholic and Lutheran churches and clergymen, Triegel was baptised in 2014. In 2015 Die Zeit called him "Germany's most famous religious artist".