Painter and musician Willi Kissmer built a solid reputation and an avid following in Europe with his quietly, erotic beautiful paintings and graphic works. He was a contemporary artist working in realism, the most uncontemporary of styles, and has been described as a young master working in the style of the Old Masters. Unlike the work of many of his contemporaries, the paintings of Willi Kissmer are not abstract or expressionistic but instead are tied to a long tradition of realism in Northern European painting. The subjects of his pieces are simple still lifes, scenes from residential architecture, and the female figure, each rendered with a fine eye for detail and a slightly disquieting sense of heightened observation. The artist passed away in 2018 in Duisburg, Germany.