Kopf

Georg Baselitz’s large and simplified Head has an expressionistic character. The harsh contrast of black and white emphasizes the monumentality of the print. The print could be understood as an attempt to associate and further the work by such artists as Ernst L. Kirchner, who used the technique of woodcut as well. Baselitz consciously tried to connect to Germany’s history of Expressionist art. As a post-war artist, Baselitz could be understood as attempting to reconstruct a cultural history or identity, building on art made at a time prior to Nazi Germany. In latching onto a specifically German aesthetic Baselitz rejects a more international style. He began experimenting with printmaking in West Berlin after he arrived there in 1957. This work is related to the artist’s development in the seventies characterized by more schematic works, with simpler forms such as the head, bird, or tree. The image of a head takes a leading role in his art from the eighties, which is evidenced in his sculpture from that period.