Georg Baselitz

Michael Werner Gallery, New York
Private Collection
Christie's, Amsterdam, 30 October 2012, Lot 40
Acquired from the above sale by the present owner

Exh. Cat., Kunsthaller Bremen, Georg Baselitz, Das Motiv, 1988, p. 13, illustrated in color
Exh. Cat., Barcelona, Exposicón Centre Cultural de la Fundació Caixa de Pensions, Georg Baselitz, 1990, p. 50, illustrated
Exh. Cat., Saarbrücken, Saarland Museum, Georg Baselitz, Werke 1981-1993, 1994, p. 238, illustrated

This work is in very good condition overall. There is evidence of wear along the edges and at the corners of the work with associated scattered pigment losses. There is evidence of stable, hairline craquelure in the white pigment passages, most noticeably in the bottom right corner. Upon close inspection, there is evidence of a minor pigment loss in the yellow impasto peak in the center of the figure’s mouth. There are pinholes in the top and bottom left corners and center left edge. Under Ultraviolet light inspection, there is no evidence of restoration. Framed.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

“Baselitz's work is a masterful union of bleakness and sensuality, mirage-like illusion and direct abstract painting, intensity and irony, introspection and irrationality. His works are grimly historical as well as personal confessions – socially as well as humanly authentic. Above all, they are that difficult and rare thing, an uncanny, dynamic mix of ugliness and beauty, vulgar in their perfection and perfect in their vulgarity. They have a kind of graceful, lyric crudity, transforming what Cézanne called "vibrating sensation" into grotesque, "Gothic" sensation. The series of 6 Beautiful, 4 Ugly Portraits – sublime and infernal, noble and grisly, disintegrated and re-integrated, estranged and haunting, intuitive and urgent – makes this very clear.”

Donald Kuspit, ‘A Critical History of 20th-Century Art,’ Artnet Magazine, 28 July 2006, n.p.