Georg BaselitzPeintre – Graveur III

Virtuosity in the front rank of post-war modern art – An interest in printmaking stands at the very beginning of Georg Baselitz’s artistic career. As a fellow at the Villa Romana in Florence he began in 1965 to collect the Italian Mannerist Parmigianino. He said of this in an interview: “I liked printmaking for two reasons: firstly, it is the simplest fixed way of rendering an artistic idea. Secondly, it was also made for the small purse, for ordinary people.” His own first etchings date from 1963/64, the first woodcuts from 1966, and in 1977 linocuts followed – works that were published by Fred Jahn and Johannes Gachnang in a two-volume catalogue raisonné, predominantly in black and white (vol. I: 1963–1974; vol. II: 1974–1982). The work of Johannes Gachnang and Fred Jahn has now been taken up again by Rainer Michael Mason and Detlev Gretenkort and continued for the period from November 1982 to July 1989. As in his painting and sculpture, the prints too engage with thematic complexes such as heroes, shepherds, eagles, trees and much else besides. Reproduced entirely in colour and with singular technical brilliance, the present volume brings together the catalogue numbers from the years 1983–1989. There can be no question that Georg Baselitz’s printed œuvre stands in its own right alongside his painting and sculpture. For decades the artist has not only penetrated the medium in the diversity of its various technical approaches and solutions; through his unparalleled virtuosity he has also moved it into the front rank of post-war modern art. The third volume of the catalogue raisonné of Georg Baselitz’s prints is now available here.