Willi Neubert "Tree of Life" 1965, erected 1969

Willi Neubert became known for his monumental enamel murals in public spaces. After the Second World War, Neubert initially worked at the Thale ironworks, but from 1950 he was delegated to study painting with Erwin Hahs and Ulrich Knispel at the Burg Giebichenstein Art School and Workshops of the City of Halle-Saale. Neubert had close ties to the steelworks. From 1970, he founded and headed an institute for architectural enamel as an external section of the Halle - Burg Giebichenstein School of Industrial Design in Thale, which specialised students in the use of industrial enamel for artistic design. "Tree of Life" from 1965 was one of the first works of art to be erected in Halle-Neustadt. The theme of the "tree of life" as a symbol of growth and development is placed in the local context by incorporating the Marktkirche church and the Saale river. Neubert was one of the GDR's renowned painters and was a professor at the Halle - Burg Giebichenstein School of Industrial Design from 1971.