Heinrich Heine (1997)

"Prechtl has a privileged position at the Spiegel. Normally several designers receive the same commission and are instructed to create a cover alongside stipulated lines. There are often between four and seven different designs, from which the best is selected. But Prechtl is so highly trusted that he always works alone and is never given guidelines for the picture. His design is eagerly awaited, and it is always received with enthusiasm. His covers are also treated with special care, the headline text is comparatively small for the Spiegel, and the type never really violates the picture. The Janus-faced nature of the pictures is interesting too: as Spiegel covers they are commissioned graphic works, but without the red banners they again become art." (From a radio feature by Dirk Kruse, Das pralle Leben in der Kunst [The Fullness of Life in Art], Bayerischer Rundfunk 2, 21 April 1996)