About Us

Matthias Ruetz

Matthias Ruetz  relationship and passion for Japanese woodblock prints started at an early age. Growing up with a father, a great collector since the late 1960s and gallery owner in Munich since 1979, it  was no surprise when Matthias Ruetz decided to  follow in his fathers footsteps. After a successful  career as a photographer  he founded in 2001 his first Gallery for "Japanese Prints and Books" in Munich (Kotobuki GmbH) by the age of 28 in co-operation with his father,  Gottfried Ruetz, an outstanding art connoisseur in the Ukiyo-e world. The close collaboration between father and son turned Matthias Ruetz over the past decades into an experienced art-dealer and expert for Japanese woodblock prints. Matthias Ruetz participates in national and international art fairs as well as auctions. His excellent communication skills, speaking German, English, Spanish, French and Italian are a great asset for his new  gallery "le cabinet japonais" which he owns and operates since 2013. The gallery is located in the museum district in Munich.

 

Gottfried Ruetz

Gottfried Ruetz (born 1941) is till today an active collector of Japanese woodblock prints and advisor for the gallery "le cabinet japonais", with four decades of experience and expertise in Japanese woodblock prints.  For about twenty years he worked as a lawyer in the state services, before his increasingly interest, which started in the late 1960s, and passion for the Ukiyo-e world lead him,  to open his   "Fine Japanese Prints and Books" gallery in 1979, which is still flourishing to this day.

He is a member of several national and international art societies and institutions including:

  • Rheinischer Kunsthändlerverband (German Antique Dealers Ass.)
  • CINOA (Confederation Int. Des Negotiants en Oevres d'Art)
  • Society for Japanese Art, Netherlands
  • Society of the East Asia Museum, Berlin Germany
  • Ukiyo-e Society of America

More than 20 years ago Gottfried Ruetz initiated a meeting of international Japanese Print dealers in Europe. By now it is a yearly tradition to organize this exclusive event, which his son Matthias Ruetz honors and continues.