Life

1908Born January 22nd in Buer/Westphalia.
1930-32Study of philosophy and art history at the Universities of Münster (till 1931) and Königsberg. In Münster attending lectures by Peter Wust, in Königsberg by Wilhelm Worringer. In Königsberg he also studied painting with Fritz Burmann.
1932-33Academy of Arts Dusseldorf. Studied under Paul Klee.
1933 With the dismissal of Paul Klee from his post by the National Socialists, Berke leaves the Dusseldorf academy and returns to Buer/Westphalia.
1936First exhibition in the Wallraf Richartz Museum, Cologne.
1937Marriage with Brunhilde Hoppe. Studio and domicile in Arnoldshöhe, suburb of Cologne.Visit to Paris on the occasion of the world exhibition.
1940Scholarship from the city of Cologne.Study trip to Regensburg and Passau. Visited Kubin’s studio.
1941Conscription.
1943 Artistic stay in Vienna.
1945Transfer to an armoured unit. Captured and imprisoned in a british war camp.
1946 Move to Alfter near Bonn.Activity in the Donnerstagsgesellschaft (Thursday society) in  the castle of Alfer together with the Cologne art historians Dr. Hermann Schnitzler and Toni Feldenkirchen, as well as the painters Hann Trier, Joseph Fassbender among others.
1948Cornelius Prize of the City of Dusseldorf.During the following years he became a member of the Westdeutscher Künstlerbund (West German artist’s alliance), the Deutscher Künstlerbund (German artist’s alliance), the Neue Rheinische Sezession (New Rheinish Secession), the group junger westen (Young West), the Münchner Neue Gruppe (Munich New group) as well as the group „ZEN“ (from 1951).
1950Prize of „junger westen“ (Young West) by the city of Recklinghausen.
1952Trip to Spain and North Africa. Stay in Paris.                       2nd prize „Eisen und Stahl“ (iron and steel) by the city of Dusseldorf.
1960Chair of »free hand drawing and water colours« for the RWTH Aachen.Summer stay on Sylt.
1960-61 Scene designer for the ballet („Petruschka“, „Tides“) at the Cologne Opera House in cooperation with the choreographer Aurel von Milloss.
1961Großer Kunstpreis (art award) by the City of Cologne. Together with Max Ernst.Summer vacation on Sylt. Stay in Rome.
1962Karl Ernst Osthaus Prize by the city of Hagen. Conrad von Soest Prize by the city of Münster.
1963Trip to Syria.
1969Trips to the Provence/France.
1972First rip to Crete/Greece.
1973Buys a plot of land with a small house on the island of Schouwen Duiveland.
1974Second visit to Crete/ Greece.
1978Trip to southern Italy with a stay on Ischia.
1979Dies November 24th in Cologne.