Markus Lüpertz is one of the most important german artists of the 20th century. After studying in Krefeld and Düsseldorf, he became a freelance artist in Berlin. In 1964 he opened a gallery together with other artists and for the first time presented his "dithyrambic painting". The motifs of these wilful, monumental creations, consciously change between abstraction and figuration and do not lend themselves to interpretations of their meaning. During the seventies, his series "German themes" stirred violent reactions and a political discussion. One of the most outstanding cycles of his work is the series "Men without Women - Parsifal" from the nineties. Since 1981 he also creates sculptures that are characteristic for his dispute with tradition. Lüpertz has been a professor since 1974, among others of the Academy of Arts in Düsseldorf, since 1988 he is dean there.