Forest landscape, late 20th century. Oil on canvas Signed “Henze” to the lower right. Label attached to the verso. Condition: light craquelure throughout; very slight billowing to canvas; small abrasions to frame. Dimensions 41.25" W x 45.75" H x 3.0" D.
Ingfried Paul Henze (German, 1925-2013) AKA ‘Henze-Morro’ or ‘P. Morro’ etc., was a well known listed artist born June 3, 1925 in Leipzig, Province of Stacksen, Germany, and was the second son of a book merchant. There has been a lot of confusion regarding this artist over the last 50+ years and the various pseudonyms that he used, with many people believing there are about 3-4 different artists or more involved, but they are all the same artist. Many online sources state that he died in 1972 in Munich, Germany, which is incorrect for the artist. He resided on Lake Garda, Italy for over 30 years before he returned to Bavaria. He rarely painted in his later years and died on June 11, 2013 in Tann (Rottal-Inn district), Lower Bavaria, at the age of 88.
Alias variations on his name are numerous and include; Ingfried Henze, Ingfried Morro, Ingfried Henze-Morro, Ingfried Paul Morro-Henze, Ingfried Morro Henze, Paul Morro, P. Morro, P. Morró, Henze-Morro, Morro-Henze, Morró and Henze-Morró, as well as Peter Morro, Peter Heinze Morro and Henze Moro.
His signatures also varied greatly from painting to painting, from his real name to his various pen names, and can also differ in style with many apparent inconsistencies—Henze did not have ‘one specific’ signature, which has led to the longtime confusion over this artist and only added to the mystery surrounding his artwork. Most of his older landscapes show the signature of his real name of Henze, while his floral still lifes often show the pen name of P. Morró, P. Morro or Henze Morro, and his portrait works often show the pen name of P. Morro or Paul Morro, and his newer works show the name of Henze Morro or Henze Morró. His style was often referred to as the new German Impressionism and many of his older landscapes feature the Black Forest region of Bavaria, while other paintings include European park scenes, Venetian scenes, cityscapes, seascapes & lake scenes, mountainscapes, floral still lifes, portrait works and nudes. In more recent decades, his art had been defined and referred to as Post-Impressionism.
Henze initially studied at the Leipziger Kunstakademie (Art Academy of Leipzig) and also at the Leipziger Kunstgewerbeschule (Leipzig School of Applied Arts) under Prof. and Director Erich Gruner (German, 1881-1966), Karl Miersch (German, 1894-1964) and with R. Lange before the start of WWII. In the late 1930’s while still a student, Henze discovered his love for jazz music and became a member of the infamous nationally known jazzclub called the Hot Club of Leipzig (HCL for short). At that time, the informal activities of the HCL were considered illegal under the Nazi regime, but many jazz greats later emerged from the HCL jazzclub. In 1942, Henze joined the German Wehrmacht and served in WWII as a pilot in the Luftwaffe (Air Force). He was later captured by the Americans and imprisoned at Bad Reichenhall in Upper Bavaria until 1945 when he was subsequently released. After the War from 1945-50, Henze continued his studies at the Kunstakademie München (Art Academy of Munich) under Prof. Adolf Schinnerer (German, 1876-1949) and Prof. Hans Gött (German, 1883-1974), and he soon become Gött’s protégé. After his studies, he worked for an art dealer for a short time and also traveled and painted extensively throughout Europe. He soon settled in Tangier, Morocco for a brief time, and later resided in Paris where he maintained a studio. He eventually settled in Northern Italy in the Veronese territory of Caprino on Lake Garda, where he maintained his home and art studio for over 30 years before returning to Bavaria where he lived for the remainder of his life.
Since the 1950’s, Henze had many successful exhibits in Munich, Dusseldorf, Vienna, London, Stockholm, Paris, and Verona. He also exhibited internationally throughout the United States in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Detroit, and in various other countries to include Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and Havana, Cuba. Henze’s most recent online exhibit was in 2010 to coincide with his 85th birthday and was held at Galerie-Wehr (Pulheim/Cologne), Germany, where they not only represent his work, but that of his son Christian Henze (Italian-German, 1975-) who is also a well known artist and painter, born August 11, 1975 in Caprino on Lake Garda, Italy. In addition to his formal art training, Christian also studied art with his father and they often took various painting study trips in the Mediterranean regions of their native Italy, and throughout Spain, Greece, Tunisia and the United States. In more recent years, he often exhibited with his famous father at Galerie-Wehr (Pulheim/Cologne), Germany, who represents their artwork respectively. Ingfried Henze’s artwork can be found in many national and international collections around the world.