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Grosser Kopf [Large Head]
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? Georg Baselitz

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Grosser Kopf [Large Head] 1966
This is one of Baselitz's earliest woodcuts. It was made after a trip to Florence, where he became interested in Italian Mannerist painting. The fractured face, overlaid with worm-like forms, is characteristic of his paintings of the same time, in which parts of the figures are cut up and rearranged or are missing altogether. The imagery may be influenced by the death and destruction of the Second World War; the shapes in the background look like smoke, which would support this reading.

Glossary Open

Mannerism

A style of art that spread from Italy to much of Europe in the 16th century, between the High Renaissance and Baroque periods. There is disagreement among historians as to its nature but it often seen as decadent, rejecting the classical ideals of the Renaissance and characterized by elongated figures.

Woodcut

A print made from an image carved into a block of wood cut along the grain. Blank areas are cut away leaving an image in relief from which a print is made.

Mannerism, Woodcut

Details

  • Acc. No. GMA 3374
  • Medium Colour woodcut with monotype on paper
  • Size 48.30 x 40.50 cm (paper 50.10 x 40.90 cm)
  • Credit Purchased 1988

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