Family background

The Dutch painter Michael Winkel was born 1956. He grew up in Dordrecht, the oldest city in Holland and hometown to Golden Age painters Cuyp and Van Hoogstraeten and the famous poet Jacob Cats. 

Michael’s parents were Antoon Winkel (1923 - 1989) and Maria Hendriks (1923 -2013). Both pursued artistic careers of their own. Antoon was a painter, ceramist, stained-glass-designer and teacher at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. Maria was known for her figurative work. Often made in textile materials.

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Formative years

In his very early years, it became clear that Michael had an amazing drawing talent. His toddler doodles and teenage drawings clearly revealed his quirky imagination and foretold his capacity to conceptualize his fantasies in a narrative way. Characteristic of his early work are monstrous characters and prehistoric animals that seem to have stepped out of the work of 16th century Dutch apocalyptic painter Hieronymous Bosch. 

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Artistic development

During his maturation into the fascinating artist he became, Michael experimented with many materials. His early pen drawings were fabulously detailed. Later, he started working with a brush and the lines became coarser. Also, his work became more stylized.

Michael’s mature paintings and drawings represent an extremely idiosyncratic and imaginative world. He combines the completely absurd with detailed bits of reality and dream-like scenes. In all works, there is a compelling force that tells not one, but several stories. Spiritual interpretations of an inner world in which the artist is eagerly looking for something to hold on to. Anxious to find a way to process his experiences.

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Life and death in the power of the brush

Life was not easy for Michael. Several times during his growing up, he has seen death at close hand. These experiences clearly mark his work. Yet, it is not a bleak and defeating death that Winkel shows us. He will even depict death as something humorous, a part in a larger whole where life eventually overthrows alle else. We see this victory especially in the sex-related scenes in his work.

Michael Winkel was not very much of a talker. But had an indomitable work ethic. His many paintings and drawings never fail to express his inner state of mind. His talent to transubstantiate his inner world into powerful images makes viewing his work an enchanting experience. Intriguing titles enhance and intensify any understanding.

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In 2012, Michael Winkel died at the age of 56.