Martin Kippenberger

Michel Würthle, Berlin
Galerie Hauser & Wirth, London
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner

Geneva, MAMCO, Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain, Martin Kippenberger - Retrospektive 1997-1976, 1997

Exhibition Catalogue, London, Tate Modern, Martin Kippenberger, 2006, p. 38, fig. 12, illustrated as part of an installation in colour

Colours: The colours in the catalogue illustration are fairly accurate although the overall tonality is brighter and more vibrant in the original work, with the plain fabric tending more towards natural canvas and the painted section of the chequered fabric towards bright orange. Condition: This work is in very good condition. There are some fine lines of discolouration towards the outer edges of the composition. Upon very close inspection there are some minute fly spots in places throughout the composition. There is a small patch of dark discolouration in the beige fabric to the upper right corner, as is visible in the catalogue illustration, and a small dark stain to the centre of the extreme left edge.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Controversial in his art as well in his life, Martin Kippenberger was a relentless self-promoter who always broke taboos and consciously nurtured misunderstandings in his art and life. His manipulation of his own image was integral to his art, and the numerous self-portraits he made throughout the course of his life form his most acclaimed and revealing canon of works. They contain a self-critical critique of portrait painting as well as exuding an arbitrary dependence on the self that was the key to his work. The present work is a highly symbolic and intimate self-portrait that dates from the creative pinnacle of Kippenberger's career. In it he recycles an image from one of his first self-portraits that had showed him half-naked pinning a gingham drawing against a gingham background (fig. 1). Like in that work, the appropriated kitsch of the red and white fabric here gives the composition a playful and tongue-in-cheek-tone that contravenes the high-seriousness traditionally associated with the genre. He was to develop this theme of unflattering self-depiction further in the iconic series of self-portraits he made the following year which took as their inspiration a photograph of Picasso dressed only in his white cotton y-fronts.