![Ohne Titel [Untitled (Figure with Raised Arm)]](http://www.nationalgalleries.org/media/42/collection/GMA 3530.jpg)
Ohne Titel [Untitled (Figure with Raised Arm)]
1982 - 1984
On Display Modern Two
This is one of Baselitz's largest and earliest wood carvings. He began making sculptures in 1979 and used chainsaws and axes to make them. The rough finish of the sculpture is reminiscent of tribal art, which Baselitz collects. The raised arm derives from African carvings of figures who raise their arms to signal surrender in battle. A drawing of the same figure has him holding a flag. The sculpture also has associations with the long tradition of German wood carving, which, in the early twentieth century, was revived by expressionist artists such as Kirchner.
