Max Renneisen

"The difference in mind between man and the higher animals, great as it is, certainly is one of degree and not of kind." (Charles Darwin)

Max Renneisen is a German painter based in Berlin and the UK. It is vital to his paintings and drawings to build on the legacy of the Old Masters and to explore the painterly possibilities of the imitation of nature in the light of modern imagery. Working in a range of media and formats, from small drawings on paper to large-scale oil paintings on canvas, Max Renneisen is particularly concerned with general issues such as human relationship with nature and the relationship between ideal and reality.
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Renneisen’s Menagerie paintings are part of an ongoing project of life-size depictions of animals. Inspired by the works of Jean-Baptiste Oudry and aware of the pictorial possibilities of modern media, his paintings are a new approach to the tradition of animals in painting. Carefully observed and constructed, the animals are placed in invented settings in the manner of Baroque portraits, thus presenting them as individual, conscious beings and as ideal representatives of a species at the same time.
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Max Renneisen’s occupation with the natural world eventually led him to explore the role of mankind in it. Paradise Lost is a continuing group of paintings and drawings, which renews the classical subject of the nude in nature. While the figures derive from modern photographic material found primarily in magazines, the surrounding landscapes are mere constructions inspired by Old Masters paintings. Renneisen’s distant, objectifying and often ironic view raises questions about the relationship between human culture and nature.
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Max Renneisen was born in Hamburg in 1977. He first studied Architecture at Bauhaus-University, Weimar, before he changed to History of Art at Humboldt-University of Berlin and concluded his studies with a Master’s degree. Numerous journeys took him to the most important museums and galleries in Europe, where he studied the works of Diego Velázquez, Peter Paul Rubens, Jusepe de Ribera, Frans Hals and Joshua Reynolds as well as those of Francisco de Goya and Gustave Courbet.

What is it about your studio space that inspires you?

The changeful history of the 1930s brick complex, in which my studio is located: Originally built as a factory for measuring instruments, the building was used by the Stasi during the GDR era. After the Fall of the Wall, it first became a tax office and then artists moved in. Each period left its mark and the layers of history are visible everywhere.

What sounds, scents and sights do you encounter while in your studio?

Belcanto operas keep me alive, turpentine kills me.

What is your favourite material to work with? How has your use of it evolved throughout your practice?

Lead white oil paints, which are banned from the European market.

What themes do you pursue?

Mankind & Nature.

What advice has had the biggest impact on your career?

I you have a plan B, plan A will not work.

If you could only have one piece of art in your life, what would it be?

Velázquez' Apollo in the Forge of Vulcan.

If you weren´t an artist, what would you be doing?

Although I can't imagine doing anything else than what I do, I highly admire the work of scientists who explore the animal mind.

What are your favourite places besides your studio?

The English countryside and the museums which contain the works of my favourite artists.

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