Fingermalerei - Akt

Georg Baselitz first began painting his subjects upside down in 1969 and continued to do so throughout his career. With the inversion the painting becomes somewhat abstracted. Baselitz’s method of composing the image upside down allows the artist to work from nature without having the figure dominate. As Baselitz makes clear with his title the act of painting, specifically finger painting, is the focus of this work. The substance of the paint, manipulated by the artist’s fingers instead of a brush, is emphasized. In 1972 Baselitz began finger-painting, a technique he referred to as a “nonstyle”. The painting is a possible self-portrait. This work belongs to a group of realistic nudes painted in the same year.