A Workman
Baselitz’s early Frakturbilder (Fracture Paintings) focus on the bodies of men, and animals in nature, in various stages of disintegration. The disjointed limbs and jumbled parts indicate the artist’s forceful confrontation of the artistic and cultural legacies of Nazism—the ruthless government under which he was born—by envisioning the physical and psychological violence wrought upon the German body politic. In the titular saw-wielding workman, Baselitz recognizes the simultaneous processes of cleaving and creating. The figure perhaps allegorically stands in for the artist himself, as he grapples with the violent past and attempts to paint in the cultural landscape of postwar Germany.
Artwork Details
- Title: A Workman
- Artist: Georg Baselitz (German, born Deutschbaselitz, Saxony, 1938)
- Date: 1967
- Medium: Oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 64 × 51 3/8 in. (162.6 × 130.5 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Gift of Dorette Staab, in honor of Max Hollein, and in celebration of the Museum's 150th Anniversary, 2020
- Object Number: 2020.26.1
- Rights and Reproduction: © Georg Baselitz 2022
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Georg Baselitz
1995
Georg Baselitz
1980
Georg Baselitz
1983
Georg Baselitz
1969
Georg Baselitz
1969
Related Content
Publications
Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.
Free to download
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.