A Hare in the Snow

Lorenz Wilhelm, better known as Willi Lorenz, was born in 1901 in Cologne, Germany. He studied at the Düsseldorf Academy of Art, where he received a solid academic foundation before returning to Cologne to establish his artistic career.

Lorenz became renowned as a German Impressionist animalier painter, specializing in depictions of animals traditionally hunted as game. His oeuvre is distinguished by highly detailed oil paintings that vividly convey the texture, weight, and movement of animals such as boars, foxes, bison, moose, buffalo, and occasionally lions, all portrayed within their natural habitats.

A master of surface and atmosphere, Lorenz demonstrated exceptional skill in rendering fur, snow, grass, and woodland settings, employing both a broad and expressive colour palette as well as harmonized tones of warm browns and luminous golds. His paintings balance realism with painterly sensitivity, capturing animals in moments of alertness, motion, or quiet presence.

Wilhelm Lorenz signed his works “Willi Lorenz.” His style shows affinities with the tradition of German animal painting and has been compared to that of Max Josef Hänger Lorenz, though Willi Lorenz maintained a distinct personal approach marked by vitality and textural richness.

The artist remained active in Cologne throughout his life and died there in 1981. Today, his works are represented in museum collections across Germany and are held in private collections worldwide, where they continue to be appreciated for their technical excellence and evocative naturalism.