Woodmen 1968

Georg Baselitz made this painting, Woodmen, using oil on canvas. Baselitz is known for his distinctive approach to painting – literally distinctive, as his works are often hung upside down. This is apparent here. He applies paint in a deliberately rough, almost crude manner. The brushstrokes are visible, and the colors are often discordant, creating a sense of unease. The figures are rendered with a sense of distortion, challenging traditional notions of form. The choice of oil paint is important. It is a medium associated with the Western tradition, yet Baselitz uses it in a way that subverts its conventional uses. There is a definite tension between the medium and the message; the woodmen could relate to labor and class, with the artist's chosen method of representation showing this in a distorted and challenging way. By focusing on the materiality and the making process, Baselitz invites us to question the very nature of representation, and the stories that painting can tell.