Dr. Müller-Lüdenscheid and Dr. Klöbner, who negotiate over the territorial sovereignty of the body of water in a bathtub, are among his timeless inventions. Or the couple that gets into a dispute over the hardness of a boiled egg. Not to forget the Christmas party at the Hoppenstedts – there, a model building kit for a nuclear power plant reveals itself to be an explosive gift. With meticulous observational skills, Loriot pierces the self-perception of the petty-bourgeois society from the 1950s to the 1980s. Although his characters, who often fail at seemingly simple tasks, invite smiles or laughter, their creator never entirely submits them to ridicule. Perhaps because he perceived them, at least in part, as doppelgängers.

The career of the humorist, who was born in 1923 in Brandenburg an der Havel, began in the 1950s as a cartoonist for magazines like "Stern" and "Quick." Even back then, Loriot had developed his distinctive drawing style - in its purest form, it is embodied by his "Knollennasenmännchen." In the 1970s and 1980s, he and his congenial sketch partner Evelyn Hamann were among the outstanding figures in the television landscape - two feature films ("Ödipussi" and "Pappa ante portas") crowned their success.

The exhibition at the Ludwig Gallery Schloss Oberhausen focuses particularly on Loriot as an artist: More than 300 original drawings are presented. Phase drawings for his animated cartoons, scene photos of legendary sketches, as well as opera stage models and screenplays complement the presentation. Loriot's work as a writer, actor, and director is also highlighted.