Discovering Peter Engels, Unveiling the Artistic Journey

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Peter Engels is a Belgian contemporary portrait artist known for powerful close-up portraits painted with a palette knife. Working with a restrained palette, often centred on sepia tones, he builds texture, light, and expression into images that feel cinematic and intensely human. His international visibility accelerated after a portrait of Nelson Mandela appeared on a major billboard in Times Square, and the momentum continued when Prince Albert II of Monaco acquired his portrait of Grace Kelly. For collectors, galleries, and press, the best next step is to view available works and contact the studio for details.

If you are a collector, gallery, or press member and want details, availability, pricing guidance, or a curated selection, the best next step is simple:

• Visit the Available Works section on peterengels.eu

• CONTACT Peter Engels for inquiries, and mention what you are looking for (size, subject, budget range, destination)

You can also follow Peter Engels on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, TikTok, and YouTube for studio updates, exhibitions, and new releases.

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Discovering Peter Engels, Unveiling the Artistic Journey

Why adding art by Peter Engels to your collection?

You buy art because you love it. But it is a welcome bonus if the work also retains value, or grows in desirability over time. Here is why art by Peter Engels is collectible.

Peter Engels gained worldwide attention when his portrait of Nelson Mandela appeared on the world’s largest billboard in Times Square, New York, for Mandela’s 90th birthday. International press described the portrait as a painting that captured Mandela’s soul, a moment that pushed the artist onto a broader international stage.

The upward spiral continued when Prince Albert of Monaco acquired Peter Engels’ portrait of Grace Kelly, adding another collector milestone to his story.

Peter Engels exhibits internationally, and his work has reached collectors across continents. Public figures and private clients commission portraits, and many respond to the work with strikingly personal praise.

Even after major, emotional setbacks, Peter Engels continued painting, and refined a style that is immediately recognisable: close-up portraits, palette knife texture, and restrained colour. Portraiture is one of the most demanding disciplines in figurative art, and this combination of technique and focus is precisely what makes his originals stand out in a collection.

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Amazing effect

Try this exercise when you view a Peter Engels portrait: look up close, then gradually step back. Up close, the palette knife strokes feel bold, almost abstract. From a distance, the face “locks in” with clarity and presence. This optical tension, raw paint becoming a living likeness, is part of the fascination.

Typical features of his style include large close-ups where eyes and mouth are central. The rest is atmosphere, suggestion, and cinematic framing.

Peter Engels continues to push for international visibility through exhibitions and major art fair ambitions, with the long-term goal of showing at the strongest global platforms.

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Peter Engels meets Karl Lagerfeld

Walking past The Mercer Hotel in SoHo, Peter Engels unexpectedly bumped into Karl Lagerfeld. That meeting later resulted in a striking canvas of Lagerfeld, sunglasses, bow tie, white ponytail, perfectly aligned with the restrained palette Peter Engels loves to use.

In the painting, Lagerfeld faces the viewer through dark glasses. We barely see his eyes. It is the look of a model, posing and holding the painter’s gaze.

In the background, Peter Engels painted a blurred skyline beside a river. Is it New York where they first met, or Paris where they met again, or Saint-Tropez where they crossed paths a third time? A few touches of red provide the only bright colour and deepen the sense of space.

When they met again, the artist asked Lagerfeld, “Is looking at your portrait like looking into the mirror?” Lagerfeld nodded and replied: “A mirror reflects my face. This painting reflects my soul.”

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The Michael Jackson painting starts crying

On the Indonesian island of Lombok, Peter Engels painted a large portrait of Michael Jackson. In the image you feel tension and vulnerability. For extra texture, Engels mixed Lombok beach sand into the paint.

Later, the portrait was water-damaged during a nightly storm in a French gallery. The result is eerie and unforgettable: it looks as if Michael is crying, as if tears roll down his face.

Peter Engels is not superstitious, but he believes the “tears” give the work an extra dimension. He also offers a plausible explanation: oil and acrylic paint can tolerate moisture, but not necessarily when mixed with salted beach sand. Rainwater seeped in, and the right eye began to “tear”. Engels chose to leave it as it is, saying that Mother Nature gave the painting its unexpected finishing touch.

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Peter Engels art accomplishments

Peter Engels’ career includes iconic portraits and collector stories that keep resurfacing:

• The Nelson Mandela portrait displayed on the world’s largest billboard in Times Square, New York on Mandela’s birthday.

• Prince Albert of Monaco acquiring the portrait of Grace Kelly

• Madonna painted as his own Mona Lisa, with a soft, mysterious smile

• The last portrait of Luciano Pavarotti, painted in Italy weeks before the tenor passed away

• A portrait of Robert De Niro with cigar, later featured on the cover of an exclusive cigar magazine

• Portraits connected to figures such as Roger Moore, jazz legend Toots Thielemans, and thriller author Bob Mendes

Peter Engels also painted Hippocrates, the father of medicine, based on remaining sculptures, then scratched the philosopher’s words into the paint in Greek: “Let your food be your medicine.”

During a two and a half hour interview, Peter Engels painted Richard Branson live on a large canvas, in front of an audience of 1,600 journalists, politicians, students, and entrepreneurs. The background shows the Antwerp skyline at night, and the work was co-signed by Branson, increasing its desirability as a collector’s item. The interview was led by Marlène de Wouters.

Peter Engels painted Belgian royalty Princess Astrid, sister of King Philippe, after being invited to her villa in Brussels for a conversation and photo shoot.

Nicole Kidman once stayed near Peter Engels’ home village of Brasschaat during the filming of Grace of Monaco. The portrait tribute connects Kidman’s presence to Grace Kelly’s Monaco legacy, using light effects that play across skin and straw hat like a quiet study in chiaroscuro.

Peter Engels was commissioned to paint Estée Lauder to revive her villa in Cannes.

He created a sculpture of Queen Rania, flown to Jordan, after friends ordered it as a gift. Queen Rania later thanked him in a personal letter.

He was commissioned by the mayor of Mougins to create a sculpture of chef Roger Vergé, positioned on the town marketplace. A miniature version serves as an award for an international chef contest.

Peter Engels painted a giant portrait of David Bowie, sold and shipped to a major Bowie collector, an English billionaire who owns Bowie’s villa on Mustique and Bowie’s significant guitar collection.

Alongside public figures, Peter Engels has painted thousands of commissions: men, women, children, captains of industry, family portraits, and even animals such as dogs and racehorses.

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Disaster strikes, 10 paintings destroyed in a storage fire

On April 6, 2021, a major fire destroyed a Belgian garden company. The adjacent storage facility, holding 10 recent paintings by Peter Engels, also went up in flames. The portraits were meant for a summer exhibition at Never Give Up Gallery. The entire “Bond & Girls” show was lost in minutes, after taking two years to create.

Among the destroyed works were portraits of Daniel Craig and Pierce Brosnan, with a classic Bond car in the background, the Aston Martin DB5. A life-size Sean Connery portrait would likely have been the exhibition centrepiece. Portraits of Monica Bellucci, Charlize Theron, Penélope Cruz, and two Brigitte Bardot portraits were also lost. Many works included a second canvas featuring an inspiring quote from the subject, those too were consumed by flames.

Peter Engels was deeply affected, but he returned to work immediately. The day after the inferno he stated: “Today I will paint again.” He kept only photos of the lost paintings, and the fact they once existed as originals gives those images a strange, poignant power.

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Peter Engels, painter of the soul

Peter Engels often calls his works “Vintage Portraits”, reinforced by his sepia tones and classic atmosphere. He paints exclusively with the palette knife, creating a three-dimensional texture that catches light and proves the work’s hand-made presence, in sharp contrast to mass-produced images.

His artistic signature is visible in the framing of the head, the large close-ups, the restrained palette, and the thick, textured knife strokes. Many viewers recognise a Peter Engels immediately.

What matters most, however, is not the surface. Peter Engels tries to capture something interior, the emotional core, the look that makes a face feel alive.

“I mostly like to paint the characteristic portraits of famous actors, writers, politicians, businessmen, musicians,” says Peter Engels. He also paints commissions: loved ones, spouses, children, relatives. In commissioned works he often incorporates personal elements, an exclusive car, a sailing yacht, an airplane, and in some pieces even life quotes, embedded into the composition.

It is fascinating to see how thousands of knife strokes gradually form a face. Peter Engels describes his goal like this: “I want to capture that bright, glorious look or expression so that the faces shine, show emotion, and really seem to live.”

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Quote by the artist, a flash in an infinite universe

PETER ENGELS: “The most beautiful thing about painting Vintage Portraits is capturing an emotion. Preserving a significant but brief moment, a flash in an infinite universe, that fascinates me. My paintings make people immortal. People who make a difference: famous, infamous, loved, hated, known or unknown. Their life stories are unique, charged with meaning and atmosphere. I combine that with a contemporary style, strong technique, and a sepia colour world, so my work is recognisable at first glance.”

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Vintage sculptures

Some of the large Vintage Sculptures by Peter Engels are based on his paintings. For the 50-year anniversary of James Bond, he created a large sculpture of Sean Connery called “Bond #1”. To celebrate his love for the South of France, he created the Brigitte Bardot sculpture called “Saint-Tropez”.

Peter Engels also makes Vintage Sculptures on demand, signed by the artist and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.

These sculptures are made from durable Corten steel, with an industrial, weathered character. One sculpture can weigh around 3,000 kg (6,600 lbs). The concrete base can be invisibly buried underground. Choose a neutral background to place these see-through sculptures. At night, well-lit sculptures can look almost fairytale-like.

Peter Engels plans to expand this series, offering maintenance-free large-scale artworks suited for parks, gardens, and squares. These sculptures can be transported, delivered, and positioned worldwide.

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Timeless muse Brigitte Bardot

Peter Engels has created over 20 original paintings inspired by Brigitte Bardot. These works go beyond reproducing photographs, they are interpretations that aim to capture character, spirit, and timeless glamour.

Bardot has praised Engels’ artistry, and added personal notes, drawings of her signature flowers, and her name to the works. These one-of-a-kind portraits have found homes in collections worldwide, reinforcing Peter Engels’ reputation as a portrait artist who seeks more than likeness.

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Inspiring workations

Workations to Saint-Tropez, Miami, and Mauritius brought new light and new stories into Peter Engels’ work.

In Saint-Tropez, Look at the Sky invites reflection on boundless beauty. Vitamin Sea, a personal portrait, celebrates his model Gisèle and her connection to the ocean, with a seashell necklace symbolising resilience. Brigitte Bardot in Her Mustang brings vintage glamour to life.

Mauritius offered a contrasting palette. The island inspired Mauritius Muse, celebrating pride and grace. Two more Bardot portraits explored her multifaceted persona: BB Reading Hemingway and BB Playing the Guitar. During that workation, Peter Engels also worked on a Winston Churchill portrait commission, adding an extra Mauritius dimension for the collector who ordered it.

Each workation enriches the journey, blending cultural essence with personal vision. Paintings made during these travels embody not just destinations, but the people and stories encountered along the way.

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Sophia Loren portrait finds its home in Italy

Some works feel destined to return to their cultural roots. This was the case with a portrait of Sophia Loren with her Mercedes Gullwing by Peter Engels. Painted with his signature palette knife technique, the portrait blends expressive realism with dynamic texture.

Engels depicted Loren in monochromatic tones so her gaze and refined features take centre stage. Behind her is the car gifted by filmmaker Carlo Ponti in 1956. The painting, like Loren and the Mercedes, radiates sophistication.

When shown in an international exhibition, the work caught the attention of a Swiss car collector who owned the actual Sophia Loren Mercedes Gullwing. He felt an instant connection. Peter Engels delivered the painting personally to the collector’s automotive museum in Italy.

For the artist, it was not merely a sale. The portrait became a tribute to two legends, and a story of a painting returning to where it truly belongs.

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Available works and contact

If you are a collector, gallery, or press member and want details, availability, pricing guidance, or a curated selection, the best next step is simple:

• Visit the Available Works section on peterengels.eu

• CONTACT Peter Engels for inquiries, and mention what you are looking for (size, subject, budget range, destination)

You can also follow Peter Engels on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, TikTok, and YouTube for studio updates, exhibitions, and new releases.