1936
Born in Heidenau, near Dresden.
1942
Attends the Volksschule zu Heidenau-Großsedlitz (today the Heinrich Heine Elementary School).
Summer 1945
Moves to Pirna-Copitz.
Autumn 1945 to 1950
Attends the Copitzer Volksschule (today the Pestalozzi Elementary School).
September 1951
Begins a three-year apprenticeship as a decorative painter at the Berufsschule für Malerhandwerk in Pirna. Courses in color theory and chemistry. Theoretical instruction two days per week; spends the rest of the week working with a master painter in Pirna.
1952
Regularly attends exhibitions produced by the Verband Bildender Künstler Deutschlands in Pirna.
July 1954
As one of the top graduates of the Berufsschule für Malerhandwerk, is awarded a scholarship to the Fachschule für angewandte Kunst in Berlin-Oberschöneweide.
October 1954
Begins studying at the Fachschule für angewandte Kunst in East Berlin. Regular excursions to West Berlin to see exhibitions and films.
April 1955
Internship at the Deutsche Werbe- und Anzeigengesellschaft (DEWAG) in Dresden. Works on the production of propaganda posters and banners.
October 1955
Applies for admission to the Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Berlin-Wilmersdorf. Is accepted, quits school in East Berlin and moves to West Berlin to begin studies, with assistance from a grant. Takes an apartment on Holsteinische Strasse 17 and in the first semester studies principles of form with Hans Jaenisch. Makes regular visits to galleries in Berlin, including Galerie Springer, Walter Schüler’s Kleine Galerie, and Camilla Spätes Kunstbuchhandlung. Also attends exhibitions, in both East and West Berlin, at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste, the Haus am Waldsee, and the Akademie der Künste.
April 1956
Switches to the class of Hans Kuhn in his second semester. Moves to an apartment at Bundesallee 214 in Berlin-Wilmersdorf.
Fall 1956
First trip to Paris, with a group from the Technische Universität (Technical University) Berlin.
1957
First mature paintings with a Tachist style. Meets Georg Baselitz at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste. Their friendship continues until 1962.
Summer 1958
Moves to a live-in studio on the sixth floor of Brunhildstrasse 10, in Berlin-Schöneberg. From this point on, paints in his studio, not at the art school.
July 1959
Attends Documenta II in Kassel. Travels there with a group from the Hochschule.
Spring 1961
After twelve semesters, passes his master’s exam at the Hochschule für Bildenden Künste. Financial aid comes to an end. Begins to support himself by taking a variety of odd jobs.
1961
First show with Georg Baselitz, on the first floor of a condemned building at Schaperstrasse 22, Berlin-Wilmersdorf. First Pandemonium (manifesto), published in collaboration with Baselitz, serves as the exhibition flyer.
Winter 1962
Second Pandemonium (manifesto) published in collaboration with Baselitz. It is mailed to potentially interested parties.
August 1962
First solo show, at the Galerie in den Hilton-Kolonnaden in Berlin, under the auspices of the Fine Arts Advisory to the Cultural Affairs Senator. Exhibits eleven paintings and eighteen drawings.
1963
Work becomes increasingly figurative and addresses, to some degree, the fraught past of National Socialist Germany. His color palette becomes lighter and more transparent.
1964
Feels increasing sympathy for the Communist movement in Mexico, the Soviet Union, and China. Rising interest in the Soviet ideal of the “New Man.” Format of his paintings becomes increasingly monumental. By the end of the year, no longer paints in a Tachist style, applying paint instead in flat grids of color.
Autumn 1964
Second solo show, Galerie Benjamin Katz, Berlin, 25 September – 24 October 1964.
1966
Submits the painting Bildnis L.T. (Portrait of L.T.), to the jury adjudicating the Karl Hofer Prize, and wins third place.
April 1966
Signs a contract with Michael Werner, who agrees to buy paintings on a regular basis.
May 1966
Exhibition of Der Rotarmist (Red Army Soldier) at the Grosse Berliner Kunstausstellung.
Fall 1966
Participates in the exhibition Metamorphose eines Gesichts in Haus der Kunst in Munich with his portrait of Liz Kertelge.
Late 1966
Loses interest in easel painting and brings his public career as a painter to a close.
Spring 1973
First solo museum exhibition, 14 x 14, Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, 16 March – 22 April 1973.
Summer 1974
Is included in the Erste Biennale Berlin, Berlin, 10 May – 11 June 1974.
December 1986
Presents a comprehensive group of drawings at Galerie Silvia Menzel, Berlin.
Spring 1992
Solo museum exhibition of paintings at the Berlinische Galerie, as part of the Fred Thieler Preis für Malerei, which he is awarded as its first recipient, 17 March – 26 April 1992.
Summer 1992
First retrospective, Eugen Schönebeck: Die Nacht des Malers, paintings and drawings from 1957-1966, Kestner-Gesellschaft Hannover, 14 June – 2 August 1992.
Winter-Spring 2011
Second retrospective, Eugen Schönebeck 1957-1967, at the Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, 23 February – 5 May 2011.
Winter-Spring 2012
Eugen Schönebeck – The Drawings, the most comprehensive exhibition of his drawings to date, is presented at Nolan Judin, Berlin, 14 January – 25 February 2012. The exhibition travels to David Nolan Gallery in New York – his first solo exhibition outside Germany.
Since 1966
His work has also been seen in more than seventy group exhibitions at galleries and museums in Germany and abroad.
Lives in Berlin.