Harsh finger and brush strokes have been used to depict this upside-down female nude, imprisoned by a heavy black border. The strong impact of the thick black paint was achieved by the artist actually walking on the canvas. Baselitz has portrayed the woman crudely, without compassion or subtlety. Muted in colour, her image is stark and simple, with no distracting detail.
This avant-garde artist likes to paint theatrical sets with a shouting or gesticulating figure which is repeated from canvas to canvas. He paints violently and distinctive images with topsy-turvy figures and colorful and liberated brushwork. He also makes sculpture by fiercely cutting away at a massive chunk of wood leaving a hacked figure, which he often daubs with red pigment. Baselitz's work is aggressive and expressive to the extent that one of his paintings was seized by the public prosecutor who claimed that it might 'arouse sexual desire among certain kinds of viewers.'
Phaidon (2001). The Art Book (pg. 28). New York: Phaidon Press Inc.
No comments:
Post a Comment