Details

Provenance

Galerie Michael Werner, Cologne Hartmut and Silvia Ackermeier Collection, Berlin Sale: Sotheby's, London, Contemporary Art Part I , 30 November 1994, Lot 38 Acquired directly from the above by the present owner

Exhibited

Basel, Kunsthalle, Baselitz: Paintings 1960-83 , 1984, p. 50, illustrated in colour Berlin, Staatliche Museen, Nationalgalerie, Altes Museum, Georg Baselitz: Bilder aus Berliner Privatbesitz , 1990, p. 65, no. 24, illustrated in colour Milan, Galleria del Credito Valtellinese, Refettorio delle Stelline, Opere dalla Collezione Ackermeier, Berlino , 1991, p. 48, no. 19, illustrated in colour Munich, Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung; Edinburgh, Scottish Gallery of Modern Art; Vienna, Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Georg Baselitz: Retrospektive 1964-1991 , 1992, no. 21, illustrated in colour Karlsruhe, Städtische Galerie, Georg Baselitz , 1993, p. 170, no. 10, illustrated in colour

Literature

Exhibition Catalogue, London, Whitechapel Art Gallery, Baselitz: Paintings 1960-83 , 1983, p. 50, illustrated in colour Catalogue Note In an interview held in 1979, Baselitz stated clearly that for him, “The reality is the picture, it is most certainly not in the picture.” (the artist cited in Exhibition Catalogue, Braunschweig, Kunstverein, 1981, p. 71). Inverting the subject as he has done since 1969 has enabled the artist to concentrate on the problems of picture-making itself, drawing the viewer to see the picture as a painted surface rather than a recipient of meaning. In Schwarzer Kopf the painted surface is alive with the vibrant application of paint, and the contrast of pure reds, blues, deep blacks and white emerging from the grey background. The colours in Baselitz’s palette from the late 1970s and early 1980s call to mind the chromatic brilliance and daring of Emil Nolde and German Expressionism, and it is noteworthy that this period in his work should also be influenced by his interest in linocuts and sculpture. Richard Calvocoressi describes Baselitz’s limewood heads and figures as being bullied into life: “The surfaces of his sculptures are left rough and scarred…Baselitz cuts and gouges the wood, in a manner related to the vigorous brushstrokes of his Munich paintings.” (Richard Calvocoressi, George Baselitz in Exhibition Catalogue, London, Whitechapel Art Gallery, Baselitz , 1983, p.19) Comparing Schwarzer Kopf to a limewood head of 1979-80 highlights their similarities as well as emphasizing the differences in the way both media are experienced. The sculpture, by its size has a physical presence which the viewer can experience in his own time, by walking around it, and letting his eye wander around its outline. The painting, however, takes over the whole field of perception through its monumental scale. The head becomes an apparition, hewn out of its background, a strange reflection of the viewer in a mirror. The black lines which support it, like an inverted base, are a boundary crossed in turning the world upside down: “Stand the topsy-turvy world on its head…Everything below zero. That is all.” (Georg Baselitz, Letter to Herr W., Berlin, 8 August 1963 cited in Ibid., p. 32)

Catalog summary

Georg Baselitz Schwarzer Kopf signed with the initials and dated Jan 79 ; signed, titled and dated Okt. 78 - Jan. 79 on the reverse oil and tempera on canvas 200 by 162cm. 78 3/4 by 63 3/4 in. Provenance Galerie Michael Werner, Cologne Hartmut and Silvia Ackermeier Collection, Berlin Sale: Sotheby's, London, Contemporary Art Part I , 30 November 1994, Lot 38 Acquired directly from the above by the present owner Exhibited Basel, Kunsthalle, Baselitz: Paintings 1960-83 , 1984, p. 50, illustrated in colour Berlin, Staatliche Museen, Nationalgalerie, Altes Museum, Georg Baselitz: Bilder aus Berliner Privatbesitz , 1990, p. 65, no. 24, illustrated in colour Milan, Galleria del Credito Valtellinese, Refettorio delle Stelline, Opere dalla Collezione Ackermeier, Berlino , 1991, p. 48, no. 19, illustrated in colour Munich, Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung; Edinburgh, Scottish Gallery of Modern Art; Vienna, Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Georg Baselitz: Retrospektive 1964-1991 , 1992, no. 21, illustrated in colour Karlsruhe, Städtische Galerie, Georg Baselitz , 1993, p. 170, no. 10, illustrated in colour Literature Exhibition Catalogue, London, Whitechapel Art Gallery, Baselitz: Paintings 1960-83 , 1983, p. 50, illustrated in colour Catalogue Note In an interview held in 1979, Baselitz stated clearly that for him, “The reality is the picture, it is most certainly not in the picture.” (the artist cited in Exhibition Catalogue, Braunschweig, Kunstverein, 1981, p. 71). Inverting the subject as he has done since 1969 has enabled the artist to concentrate on the problems of picture-making itself, drawing the viewer to see the picture as a painted surface rather than a recipient of meaning. In Schwarzer Kopf the painted surface is alive with the vibrant application of paint, and the contrast of pure reds, blues, deep blacks and white emerging from the grey background. The colours in Baselitz’s palette from the late 1970s and early 1980s call to mind the chromatic brilliance and daring of Emil Nolde and German Expressionism, and it is noteworthy that this period in his work should also be influenced by his interest in linocuts and sculpture. Richard Calvocoressi describes Baselitz’s limewood heads and figures as being bullied into life: “The surfaces of his sculptures are left rough and scarred…Baselitz cuts and gouges the wood, in a manner related to the vigorous brushstrokes of his Munich paintings.” (Richard Calvocoressi, George Baselitz in Exhibition Catalogue, London, Whitechapel Art Gallery, Baselitz , 1983, p.19) Comparing Schwarzer Kopf to a limewood head of 1979-80 highlights their similarities as well as emphasizing the differences in the way both media are experienced. The sculpture, by its size has a physical presence which the viewer can experience in his own time, by walking around it, and letting his eye wander around its outline. The painting, however, takes over the whole field of perception through its monumental scale. The head becomes an apparition, hewn out of its background, a strange reflection of the viewer in a mirror. The black lines which support it, like an inverted base, are a boundary crossed in turning the world upside down: “Stand the topsy-turvy world on its head…Everything below zero. That is all.” (Georg Baselitz, Letter to Herr W., Berlin, 8 August 1963 cited in Ibid., p. 32)