Franz Gertsch (8 March 1930 – 21 December 2022) was a Swiss painter and printmaker who was known for his large format photorealistic portraits and detailed studies of nature.

“Huaa...!” initiated the turn to the artist’s brightly coloured photorealistic works of the 1970s, which were often based on Gertsch’s own documentary-style snapshots of family and friends.

[7] His self-titled “situation portraits” include the artist’s depictions of his gender fluid friends getting ready for a party, which was called “a new art form” by the American psychologist and LSD guru Timothy Leary.

[1] Moving between painting and printmaking, and portraiture and landscape, he maintained an investment in the photorealist image and its simultaneous citation and monumentalization of the photographic instant.

[9] Gertsch’s figurative and photorealistic works can be associated with the European Pop art movement and with contemporary artists such as Gerhard Richter and Sigmar Polke in Germany, as well as Chuck Close in the USA.

Focusing on detailed nature studies and close-up portraits, Gertsch however developed his unique style separating him from the social commentary and ironic motifs of Pop art.