Der Erste Mai, 2003-2004

Renowned for his expressionistic, often grotesque figurative artwork, Georg Baselitz’s output spanned painting, wood sculpture, and printmaking. His most notable works often addressed questions surrounding Germany’s national identity in the aftermath of the Second World War. He was at the centre of significant controversy in 1980 when he represented Germany at the Venice Biennale, exhibiting a large wooden sculpture that appeared to reference a Nazi salute.

Among Baselitz’s early influences were Art Brut and Abstract Expressionism, as well as the work of artists such as Wassily Kandinsky and Edvard Munch. The exaggerated features present throughout his work were intended as symbolic devices, and one of his most recognised bodies of work is the Hero series, depicting wounded and scarred soldiers in the aftermath of war.

Towards the end of the 1960s, Baselitz began painting his subjects upside down as a deliberate strategy to shift focus away from representation and toward the act of painting itself. His Elke series stands among the most notable examples of this approach.