Georg Baselitz Eisdiele, 2020

The figure in Eisdiele (2020) is Georg Baselitz’s wife Elke, whose image has occupied a prominent position in his practice for over 50 years. The Elke paintings constitute the largest single group of his portraits, in which he engages in the struggle of representation, the inescapability of subjectivity, and the representation of the self through a significant other. This painting forms part of Baselitz’s Speiseeis (Ice cream) series, in which the works are titled after different flavours and rendered in sorbet shades. ‘They are lyrical and good humoured. Like Wayne Thiebaud’s Sundaes, Baselitz’s paintings evoke an indulgent outing to an immaculate place, the Eisdiele (Ice Cream Parlour),' writes Philip Rylands.

These new works mark a significant development in Baselitz’s technique, created using a transfer method. This leaves visible artefacts, such as the blurring of the figure’s face or the aerated texture of the blue paint, which contribute to the gestural expressivity of the work. The figure in Eisdiele is almost subsumed by the vigour of the energetic strokes and drips of paint. Oscillating between figuration and abstraction, the composition is formally structured by areas of distinct, non-naturalistic colour, while the innovative technique draws attention to the materiality of the painted surface.

This painting was exhibited in Baselitz’s solo exhibition Vedova accendi la luce at the Fondazione Emilio e Annabianca Vedova in 2021.