Georg Baselitz Diegos Bein, 2020

Bronze fire-gilded, 27.5 kg

166.5 x 65 x 2.5 cm (65.55 x 25.59 in)

Ed. 1 of 9

Diegos Bein (2020) forms part of a recent series of fire-gilded bronze legs and feet, with titles that pay homage to artists whom Georg Baselitz admires, here, Diego Giacometti. Feet have been a constant in the canon of Baselitz’s motifs since his earliest group of works, P.D. Füße (1960–63), explored serial variations on the subject. These depictions of damaged, amputated feet directly contradicted accepted notions of beauty, as well as reflecting his personal experiences of post-war Germany. The artist says that they are ‘invented feet’ and his initial decision to focus on this body part was motivated by a desire to ‘choose something disagreeable’. However, the elegance of the elongated bas-relief in Diegos Bein is far removed from the dirty, damaged, ‘disagreeable’ feet of his earlier series. Fragmented and distanced from its fleshy associations, the foot acquires greater aesthetic and formal autonomy, but remains grounded through its tactile connection with the earth.