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Johannes Matthaus Koelz

Johannes Matthaeus Koelz (1895–1971) led an extraordinary life marked by profound courage, artistic brilliance, and a firm moral stand against the horrors of war.

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Early Life and World War I

  • Background: Born on March 31, 1895, in Mühldorf am Inn, Bavaria, into a Catholic family. He showed great promise as an artist from an early age.

  • The Trenches: His studies at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts were interrupted by the outbreak of World War I.He served as an infantry officer on the Western Front and was awarded the Iron Cross for bravery after rescuing a wounded soldier at Verdun in 1916.

  • A Shift in Perspective: The brutal realities of trench warfare, alongside the tragic death of his brother in action, profoundly changed him. The decorated war hero emerged from the conflict as a committed pacifist and anti-militarist.

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The Masterpiece and Escape

  • "Thou Shalt Not Kill!": After the war, Koelz worked as a police officer while continuing his art studies. Between 1930 and 1937, he secretly painted his magnum opus: a monumental, 24-foot-wide anti-war triptych titled Thou Shalt Not Kill! (Du Sollst Nicht Töten). The shocking and powerful work depicted a crucified dead German soldier wearing a gas mask, surrounded by praying soldiers and priests blessing weapons.

  • Defying the Regime: In 1937, he faced imminent arrest for "pacifist propaganda" (and, according to historical accounts, refused an incredibly lucrative offer to paint a portrait of Adolf Hitler). To prevent his masterpiece from being destroyed by the regime, Koelz made the agonizing decision to cut the massive painting into smaller pieces at a local sawmill, distributing the fragments to trusted friends and family to hide.

  • Exile: Now a refugee, he fled Germany with his wife Claire and their children, journeying through Austria and Prague before arriving in England in 1939. His hardships continued when he was briefly interned and shipped to Australia as an "enemy alien" in 1940, though he later returned to the UK to serve in the Pioneer Corps.

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Time in Curraglass, Co. Cork

Following the immense turbulence of the war years and the passing of his wife Claire in 1957, Koelz sought a quieter existence. In 1968, Buying a small cottage (unseen from a newspaper advert) in the rural Irish village Curraglass Co. Cork,  he divided his latter years between Shelton (Stoke-on-Trent, England) and Curraglass, County Cork, Ireland.

 

His time in Ireland was characterised by a peaceful but highly productive return to his art.  His daughter Ava, explains how welcome he felt and he made many friends in the local area. In the tranquil, rural surroundings of Curraglass, Koelz continued to actively paint and sculpt.  Moving away from the monumental political statements of his past, his later years in Ireland and England were spent drawing and painting numerous portraits, still lifes, and expressive landscapes, as well as engaging in book illustration.  After a life defined by displacement, political persecution, and the fragmentation of his greatest artwork, Curraglass offered Koelz a much-needed sanctuary to dedicate his final years to his craft. He passed away in Stoke-on-Trent on July 3, 1971.

 

A Lasting Legacy

Decades after his death, his daughter Ava Farrington and art curators managed to track down several surviving fragments of Thou Shalt Not Kill! scattered across Europe. Today, pieces like the "Dead Soldier" and "Boy's Praying Hands" are held at the Leicester Museum & Art Gallery in the UK, ensuring that Koelz's artistic brilliance and his message of peace endure.

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Articles, Books & Links

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Simon Lake -  A  curator, writer and artist with nearly thirty years’ experience in the arts and museums sector,  provides extensive insight into the life and work of  Johannes Matthaeus Koelz on his website and his published work - a complete account of artist Johannes Matthaeus Koelz’s incredible life and the unparalleled masterpiece which put him and his family into exile –  'The Painter’s Hidden Masterpiece'   

"Noted painter who defied Hitler found peace here" – Sunday Independent (Jerome Reilly, Jan 2012)

This is the primary Irish article detailing his time in Curraglass and his daughter Ava's efforts to restore his work.

"Sketch poser from artist who snubbed Hitler" – The Guardian (Maev Kennedy, Oct 2001) Interviews his daughter, Ava Farrington (living in Cork), about discovering the lost fragments and her father's time in Ireland.

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Key Biography & Art Resources

"Johannes Matthaeus Koelz: Thou Shalt Not Kill! (1930-37)" – Midlands Art Papers, University of Birmingham

A comprehensive academic breakdown of his life, his escape from the Nazis, and the history of the painting.

"Johannes Matthaeus Koelz" – German Expressionist Collection, Leicester Museums

The official museum archive holding his surviving works. Includes images of the 'Dead Soldier' and 'Boy's Praying Hands' fragments.

Details on the definitive biography book written by Simon Lake and Koelz's daughter, Ava Farrington.

"Johannes Matthaeus Koelz" – Wikipedia Entry

A general timeline of his movements from Bavaria to Australia (internment) to Ireland.

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