Meine neue Mütze

A monumental work by the German artist Georg Baselitz, Meine neue Mütze (“My new hat”) depicts the artist as a child. Carved from a large tree trunk, the sculpture preserves the traces of the tremendous amount of energy expended by the artist to release the figure from the material, which he then further accentuated with paint. This return to his childhood is only on the surface; as if he had done something mischievous, his hands are crossed behind his back to form a skull and crossbones motif. 

Like a vanitas painting, the sculpture expresses the tension between an eternal youth and the unavoidable prospect of death. This piece opens the exhibition with a cyclical view of our own existence.