Udo Claassen was born in Itzehoe in the state of Schleswig-Holstein. He discovered the medium of mezzotint by seeing a book on the work of master engraver, Yozo Hamaguchi and he learned the technique through his own experimentation. He has been working in mezzotint since 1978 although he considers his primary artistic pursuit to be drawing and painting.
The artistic influences on Claassen have been C. D. Friedrich, Wang Wei and Ansel Adams.
