Born in the small town of Bergen in northern Germany, Matthias Bade, son of a butcher and innkeeper father and a cook mother, decided at the age of four to become an artist and painter.

He studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. Since 1995, he has held exhibitions in Austria, Germany, and Spain. Under the pseudonym Mats Bergen, he began illustrating weekly glossaries and worked as a cartoonist for renowned Austrian political magazines. Still working as Mats Bergen, he became a famous fashion and lifestyle illustrator for magazines such as Fame, Diva, HekMag, VOGUE, COSMOPOLITAN, and more. He became a successful illustrator in collaboration with international companies like Saatchi & Saatchi, Ogilvy & Mather, TBWA Paris, and others.

Seit 2021 illustriert Matthias Bade für die Filmstudios Babelsberg als Kostüm-Illustrator für die Hollywood-Action-Thriller „John Wick 4“ und „Baghead“. Since 2021, Matthias Bade has been working as a costume illustrator for Babelsberg Film Studios, contributing to Hollywood action thrillers like John Wick 4 and Baghead. He also designs his own collection of luxurious wallpapers and panoramic murals. Additionally, Bade works as an opera singer in the choir of the Deutsche Oper Berlin and as a vocal coach. Bade arbeitet auch als Opernsänger im Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin und als Gesangscoach.