The German Series #18 - Hermann Eller

Hermann Eller (1925 - 2009) was a portrait and lanscape painter from Deggendorf, Germany. Born as Hermann Rott, he was adopted by the Eller family in Natterberg.

 Self portrait with Brown Beret

Hermann Eller started at a young age, winning numerous art competitions, until the war stopped him perfecting his skills. Drafted into the navy in 1943, he was taklen prisoner the next year and spent the remainder of the war as a forced labourer in a French mine. It was only in 1947 that Eller returned from captivity and back to art.

His first charcoal drawing was called  Baskenmütze mit Drillichjoppe, and the brown beret became his trademark since then.