Johannes Holst (1880-1965) counts amongst Germanys most important seascape artists, highly appreciated far beyond his home town of Hamburg. He was an autodidact; nature itself was his teacher. Most remarkable his wide range of additional talents: a connoisseur of classical music, he produced violins under the name of Altenwerder Stradivari, played piano and cello, constructed and built his own Yacht and, first of all, was an passionate sailor. Over the course of seven decades Holst created an impressive oeuvre of several thousand paintings with mainly maritime motifs ranging from the traditional fishing boats of the Lower Elbe and, especially, the great era of the Wind Jammer of which he can be called its Chronicler. Like Jack Spurling, one of his role models, Johannes Holst is known for his exact painting and his dedication to the correctness of the maritime detail. His seascapes can today be seen in twelve renowned Museums or found their place in numerous private collections in twenty countries.

The author Walter Koenig was born on the Elbe island Altenwerder next to the Hamburg Harbour (1935). He therefore knew Johannes Holst from this childhood and both, artist and author, grew up with the life of the fisher men in their inherited traditions enabling the author to tell us the Story of the divinely gifted artist in all its facets and hitherto unknown detail. The author made his early experience in the Hamburg export business and was sent in 1955 to Africa where he worked for four years in the cotton business in partnership with a Liverpool Company. Personal ties and frequent visits have since enlivened his relationship to the United Kingdom. During four decades the author visited all continents, the longest time in leading positions of Hospital care and surgical instruments. During his retirement ancestry and Johannes Host was his predominant research and publishing. Today he lives in Tuttlingen near Lake Constance, Germany.