Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a watercolor drawing by Georg Baselitz. It dates from 1968 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1968, this untitled work by Georg Baselitz combines pencil drawing with watercolor on paper. The composition features a horse and a standing figure rendered in a dynamic, gestural manner. The piece is part of the Museum of Modern Art’s collection, where it is displayed as an example of Baselitz’s early experimentation with drawing and color.
Subject & Meaning
The image presents a brown‑and‑white horse with its head lifted and mouth open, positioned beside a human figure whose facial features are omitted. The juxtaposition of animal and anonymous person suggests a narrative tension, while the open mouth of the horse conveys a sense of vocality or alertness, inviting viewers to contemplate the relationship between the two forms.
Technique & Style
The combination of scratched lines and translucent pigment creates a sense of movement and immediacy, characteristic of the artist’s early graphic approach.
Baselitz employs a loose, expressive line work, allowing the pencil strokes to remain visible and often overlapping. Watercolor washes add muted brown, green, and ochre tones that enhance the surface texture without fully covering the underlying drawing. The combination of scratched lines and translucent pigment creates a sense of movement and immediacy, characteristic of the artist’s early graphic approach.
History & Provenance
The drawing was produced during Baselitz’s formative period in the late 1960s, a time when he was exploring the boundaries between drawing and painting. It entered the Museum of Modern Art’s collection through acquisition in the early 2000s, where it remains part of the institution’s holdings of post‑war German art.
Artist & collection
Artist
Georg Baselitz was a German-Austrian painter, sculptor and graphic artist. In the 1960s he became well known for his figurative, expressive paintings. In 1969 he began painting his subjects upside down in an effort to…
