Man Space Cosmos. Peter Martinus Dillen and Rainer Dillen

Peter Martinus Dillen and Rainer Dillen were a remarkable father-son duo in the Rosenheim art scene.

Rainer Dillen (1938 - 2019), son of Dutch painter Peter Martinus Dillen, trained as a printmaker and worked as a freelance painter and graphic artist from 1960. The human being in his existence and his vulnerability was the central theme of his artistic work from the very beginning. His works developed from portraits to plant-inspired forms to abstract figuration - often characterised by a deep tension between nature and existence. In 1968, he was awarded the first Cultural Promotion Prize of the City of Rosenheim. As a committed citizen, he co-founded the Rosenheim Forum for Urban Development and Environmental Issues in 1971. A major retrospective at the Städtische Galerie (Municipal gallery) in Rosenheim in 1989 honoured his multifaceted work. Rainer Dillen lived and worked in Rosenheim, and from 1991 to 2005 also in Amsterdam. The works on paper he created there - especially his luminous pastels - occupy an important place in his oeuvre. Opposites meet in his later works: Day and night, life and death, man and woman. The human figure enters into dialogue with vegetative forms - poetic, suspenseful, still.

Peter Martinus Dillen (1890-1985) was a Dutch draughtsman, painter and graphic artist from Mierlo in Brabant. After his first years as a textile designer at Vlisco, his talent as a painter was also encouraged there. In 1916, he began his studies at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam. He was awarded the prestigious Cohen-Gosschalk Prize in his very first year. After graduating, he returned to Brabant and continued to develop his painting style - also inspired by the painter Vincent van Gogh. In the 1930s, he settled permanently in Rosenheim with his wife Marianne Rolffs, but remained artistically connected to his homeland. Dillen's works were widely recognised - both in the Netherlands and in Germany. A major retrospective to mark his 90th birthday was organised jointly by the Städtische Galerie (Municipal gallery) Rosenheim and the Gemeentemuseum Helmond in 1980.

The exhibition shows the different perspectives and techniques of both artists and presents the diversity of their artistic work.

Last edited on 07.05.2026