GEORG BASELITZ | Untermensch

Private collection, London (acquired directly from the artist)
Sale: Christie's, New York, Post-War and Contemporary Morning Session, 14 May 2014, lot 226
Acquired from the above sale by the current owner

London, Anthony d'Offray Gallery, Hammergreen: New Paintings by Georg Baselitz, October - November 1991
Seoul, Gana Art Gallery, Georg Baselitz, 4–18 Decembre 1993; catalogue, n.p., no. 13, illustrated in colour

The illustration in the catalogue does not accurately convey the relief of the composition. The work is executed on its original canvas and is not relined. There are light wear marks on the rims near the corners. This work is in very good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Georg Baselitz is doubtless one of the most remarkable painters of our time. As powerful as it is poignant, his work is exceptional for its roots in the history of both European and American painting. Throughout his career Baselitz continually explored new horizons, opening the way towards new forms of representation. He tirelessly depicted the human figure in a radical manner: firstly deformed and broken in the 1960s, and then turned upside down in the 1970s and 1980s. At the beginning of the 1990s, Baselitz tackled a series entitled Bildeins. Dissatisfied with the result, he continuously repainted these works until new pictorial compositions appeared. Thus the Bildübereins were born, more accomplished but also more ambivalent than the Bildeins due to the superposition of images which endows them with a greater sense of soul.

For this series and more particularly for the present work, Baselitz also found inspiration in antique iconography. Motivated by the constant desire to redefine the modes and methods of figurative language, the artist attempted to reproduce the feelings triggered in the spectator by funereal sculptures of lying figures viewed from above. The palette he uses here recalls the far off history of ancient Egypt. Indeed the tones employed in this composition echo those of the Egyptian funereal rites that so interested Baselitz. The body painted in green, hovers between this world and the next, aspiring towards elevation at the heart of a white halo evocative of the blinding light of the hereafter. The rounded forms placed on either side of the body also evoke the ka, the spiritual double who accompanies us from birth till death and who alone can access eternal rest.