Klaus Merkel was born in Heidelberg in 1953. He studied painting under Peter Dreher at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe from 1975 to 1980, where he later held a guest professorship in painting from 1988 to 1989. He subsequently taught as a guest professor of painting at the Academy of Art in Bucharest (1996–1997) and the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Lyon (1997–2000). Klaus Merkel has held a professorship in painting at the Academy of Art in Münster since 2009. He has received numerous awards, including, in 1999, the Prix Franco-Allemande de la Peinture (Franco-German Painting Award) of the European Foundation of Culture in Paris. His works have been displayed at numerous solo and group exhibitions and are represented in international public and private collections. The artist lives and works in Schallstadt, Freiburg and Münster.