Painting
Drawings
Biography
1921
born in Kratzau/ Chrastava (today Czech Republic)
1927
Attends elementary and middle school in his hometown
1936-39
Art school of the North Bohemian Trade Museum in Reichenberg/ Liverec
(today Technical Repulik)
1939-40
Studied at the Hermann Göring Master School for Painting in Kronenburg/ Eifel
1941-44
Military service (Soviet Union and Italy)
1944
Establishing contacts with the Italian resistance movement
1946
Artistic work in Vicenza and Venice
Brief return to Kratzau/ Chrastava
1947
Marriage to Irmgard Kindler, 1963 divorce
Moves to Halle an der Saale
1949
Birth of son Volkmar
1951
Teaching position at the Burg Giebichenstein Institute for Artistic Design in Halle
1959
Appointment as professor at the University of Industrial Design Halle – Burg Giebichenstein
1964
Elected to the Central Board of the Association of Visual Artists of Germany
Art Prize of the GDR
1965
Marriage to Ingrid Dreßler
1966
Birth of daughter Sarah
1970
Elected Vice President of the Association of Visual Artists of the GDR
1972
Appointed Director of the Fine and Applied Arts Section at the Halle School of Industrial Design – Burg Giebichenstein
Gold medal at the 3rd International Graphic Arts Biennale in Florence
1974
Elected President of the Association of Visual Artists of the GDR
1976
Election to the People’s Chamber of the GDR
1977
Participation in the “documenta 6” in Kassel
1979
National Prize of the GDR I. Class for Art and Literature
1986
Termination of university activities (retirement)
Elected member of the Central Committee of the SED
1988
Termination of the presidency of the Association of Visual Artists of the GDR
Elected Honorary President of the Association of Visual Artists of the GDR: Returned in 1989
2001
Elected Corresponding Member of the European Academy of Sciences, Art and Humanities in Paris
2003
Establishment of the Willi Sitte Foundation for Realist Art based in Merseburg
2006
Opening of the Willi Sitte Gallery Merseburg on the occasion of his 85th birthday
2008
Awarded the Art Prize of the City of Halle
Honorary citizenship of the city of Montecchio Maggiore (Italy)
2013
Willi Sitte dies in Halle on June 8
2021
To mark the 100th anniversary of his birth, the Moritzburg Art Museum in Halle is presenting a comprehensive retrospective of Willi Sitte’s paintings and drawings. The catalog “Sitte’s World” is being published
Public collections
Aachen, Ludwig Forum for International Art
Augsburg, Walter Art Museum
Berlin, DHM
Berlin, National Gallery
Budapest, Ludwig Museum of International Art
Cottbus/ Frankfurt/ Oder, Brandenburg State Museum of Modern Art
Dresden, New Masters Gallery
Dresden, Military History Museum of the German Armed Forces
Durbach, Museum of Contemporary Art – Hurrle Collection
Frankfurt am Main, Städel Museum
Gera, City Museum
Halle/Saale, Moritzburg Foundation Halle – Art Museum of the State of Saxony-Anhalt
Hamburg, Kunsthalle
Cologne, Museum Ludwig
Leipzig, Museum of Fine Arts
Munich, Staatliche Graphische Sammlung
Beijing, Ludwig Museum for International Art
Potsdam, Museum Barberini
Rostock, Kunsthalle
Schwerin, State Museum
Suhl, Municipal Museum
Weimar, Art Collections
Vienna, Museum of Modern Art Ludwig Foundation
Würzburg, Museum am Dom
Estate
Willi Sitte founded the “Willi Sitte Foundation for Realistic Art” in Merseburg in 2005 while he was still alive. This looked after a significant part of his work until it was dissolved in 2021. These works from the former foundation are now managed by Galerie Schwind, which previously represented Willi Sitte’s estate.
We would also like to take up the aims of the former foundation and enable the works to be preserved, scientifically processed and cared for. In addition to the works of art, we also preserve the artist’s library, which is available for research purposes. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
News
Willi Sitte – Retrospective Halle
30. September 2021
100. Willi Sitte’s birthday
28. February 2021
Motif Man | Fritz Cremer and Willi Sitte in dialog at the Kunsthalle Rostock
1. November 2018
