Horst Janssen (14 November 192931 August 1995) was a German draftsman, printmaker, poster artist and illustrator. He had a prolific output of drawings, etchings, woodcuts, lithographs and wood engravings. Janssen was a student of Alfred Mahlau at the . He first published in the newsweekly in 1947. In the early 1950s, he started working in lithography, on an initiative of paper manufacturer Guido Dessauer, using the technical facilities of a coloured paper factory. The first retrospective of Janssen's drawings and graphic works was shown in 1965, first in the Hanover, then in other German cities and in Basel. In 1966, he was awarded Hamburg's Edwin Scharff Prize. International exhibitions followed. In 1968, he received the Grand Prize in graphic art at the Venice Biennale; in 1977, his works were shown at the documenta VI in Kassel. The Horst Janssen Museum in his hometown of Oldenburg is dedicated to his legacy. His work is shown internationally in major museums. His life was marked by numerous marriages, outspoken opinions, alcoholism, and selfless dedication to the art of printmaking. Early life and education Janssen was born in Hamburg. His mother, Martha Janssen, was a dressmaker from Oldenburg; he never knew his father. Janssen was brought up by his mother and grandparents at Lerchenstraße 14, Oldenburg. He was adopted by his grandfather, and following his death, he was adopted by the Guardianship Court in 1939. In 1942, he became a student at the National Political Institute of Education ( or napola) in Haselünne, Emsland, where an art teacher, Hans Wienhausen, encouraged his artistic talent. His mother died in 1943. In 1944, he was adopted by his mother's younger sister, Anna Janssen, and he moved to Hamburg, where she lived. He lived with his Aunt Anna on for the remainder of the war and the postwar period. They later moved to (Harvestehude). In 1946, at the age of sixteen, Janssen enrolled at the (regional art school) in Hamburg, where he studied with Alfred Mahlau, proving to be an outstanding pupil from the outset. First publications Janssen's first publication was a drawing in the weekly newspaper in 1947. The following year he published his first book, the children's book (Are you all there?), with Rolf Italiaander. In 1950 his first child, son Clemens, was born and he wrote and illustrated his second book, (The race between the hare and the hedgehog on the Buxtehude Heath), for