Rebel

In the mid-1960s, Baselitz embarked on a series of paintings depicting male figures that dominate the space of the picture. While they bear some relation to the heroic figures of Social Realist art, they were also portrayed as wounded or dishevelled. According to the artist, this figure holds the pole of a flag in one hand, while the other hand is bandaged. Details such as the burning house appear in other works in the series. 'I was concerned with a very direct, almost illustrative method of representation', Baselitz has said of this work.