AR Penck's stick figures are de-individualized protagonists of complex pictorial structures. The artist not only addresses the major conflicts of political systems, but also traces them back to interpersonal levels. Most of the time, however, his pictures are characterized by a general validity that opens them up to basic readability. His art began in the late 1950s with intimate portrait drawings of members of his family. He knows Picasso and Rembrandt from catalogs, and the heroes serve as his formal artistic orientation. The earliest pictures from the late 1950s and early 1960s are also portraits of people from his private circle, while the artist achieved initial success with the conceptual ‘System’ and ‘Standart’ pictures. The year 1980 can be described as pivotal in many respects due to his expatriation and relocation to the Federal Republic of Germany. Penck moved in with his gallerist Michael Werner in Schloß Loersfeld in Kerpen near Cologne. The first works created there were portraits again, like the present one. Penck painted artist colleagues, friends, collectors and gallery owners. Many of these documents of his beginnings in West Germany are still in the possession of those portrayed and rarely appear on the international auction market. [SN]