Heinrich Steiner

Heinrich Steiner (1911–2009) was a German painter and engraver. Born in Kaiserslautern, he was the son of a theater director. He first studied at the School of Applied Arts in Altona (Hamburg), then stage design at the national theaters of Hamburg and Berlin. Between 1932 and 1934, he continued his studies at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts under Karl Caspar.

In 1938, he left Germany to settle in Florence, where he joined a circle of German artists and studied under Felice Carena. His work was influenced by Rudolf Levy, a student of Matisse. He exhibited for the first time in Florence in 1939, then in Venice and Milan, where he won the Premio Colomba at the Venice Biennale in 1946. He signed a contract with the Venetian art dealer Carlo Cardazzo, but returned to Florence in 1949 after their collaboration ended.

In 1950, he married Giuliana Toti and returned to Germany, where he taught art and painting. A member of the Palatinate Secession movement, he received the Palatinate Prize for Painting in 1953. He then taught in Frankfurt am Main from 1959 to 1974, while exhibiting regularly in Germany and Italy. In 1974, he returned to live and work in Italy, in Rome and Lerici, where he continued to create until his death.

His work, marked by expressionist and post-impressionist influences, is exhibited in several galleries and museums, notably in Rome and Frankfurt.