Life
Rainer Maria Latzke was born in December 28, 1950 as the fourth of nine children of an art teacher and grew up in a small town near Cologne in the Rhineland. He started painting at the early age of five and from then on grew more and more passionate about art.
In 1971 he studied art at the renowned Dusseldorf Academy of Arts under Joseph Beuys and Gerhard Richter. After earning Master’s degrees in Art, Philosophy and Art Pedagogic in1977 he went to Italy to continue his studies in Rome and Florence.
Fascinated by the Renaissance frescoes he engaged himself intensely in the painting techniques of the old masters. With his profound studies he started to develop a new mural style by mixing classical painting with modern ideas. This laid the foundation not only for his international career but also to a rediscovery of mural painting as a contemporary form of decoration in modern interior design.
His extraordinary art became known quickly on his return to Germany. International media talked about his mural paintings in articles and TV documentaries; while his cooperation with the luxury department store Harrods in London opened the doors to Middle Eastern royalties.
In 1981 he married Doris Boecke with whom he has three children. In 1982 the family moved to Gut Stepprath a historic mansion surrounded by a large park near to Aachen at the Belgian border.
In 1986 he acquired the Chateau Thal in Belgium, the former ancestral seat of the counts of Grand Ry, which was abandoned for a longer time and in dire need of renovation. Latzke restored the castle and the surrounding park to its former beauty and made it a showcase of his art and interior design.
In 1990 he and his family moved to California, where he lived and worked in the former residence of Hollywood actor Nick Nolte for two years. During this time he discovered digital image treatment techniques and engaged himself intensively, recognizing the impact this new technology would also have on art and design. Due to the growing requests for his murals he started working on a new reproduction method for wall paintings, which led to the invention of the Frescography for which he was awarded a patent in 2000.
In 1995 he moved to France and acquired a provincial estate at the Cote d´Azur overlooking Nice and transformed it into a spacious guest house for his family and his international visitors.
In 1998 he acquired and restored the “Villa Paradou”, the former residence of Oscar winning Henry Chretien, the inventor of the cinemascope technique. In this villa, nestled in the hills of Monte Carlo and overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, he spent a lot of time working on private projects and enjoying being with his family, making music and recording his own songs and as well preparing the publication of the book “Dreamworlds”.
Due to international demand Latzke founded Dreamworlds with its’ main office in London and since 2010 in Hong Kong. To realize his projects Latzke relies on his professional team of selected artists and designers.
Latzke holds lectures at the Utah State University and is Master of the Mural and Decorative Wall Art Master studio of the Beijing De Tao Masters Academy. He is also Director of the Institute of Frescography and Honorary Professor of the Shanghai Institute of Visual Art of Fudan University.
Latzke is passionate about historical buildings, some of which he affectionately restored while he is also a collector of rare cars.
International Standing
Rainer Maria Latzke is the founder of the Neo-Renaissance style in mural painting. His combination of classical painting techniques and modern perception influenced many other muralists. His wide and open landscapes are regarded as classics of contemporary mural painting; many of his motifs are often cited icons.
His murals can be found in private houses all over the world, in 5-star Hotels and cruising ships as well as in public buildings like the Vienna Town Hall, his clients include royal families of the UAE, rock stars and major companies like Mercedes Benz.
International Media such as Herald Tribune call him “Michelangelo of Modern Days”, in 1992 he was elected by the Forbes magazine as the most influential person of the decade in the field of painting; the Artists Trade Union of Russia ranks him amongst the world-best artists of the last four centuries.