The bright pink background of Georg Baselitz’s painting Ili Uli in der Nacht belies the very explicit nature of the subject. The painting belongs to a series titled Die Russenbilder in which Baselitz appropriated Social Realist imagery including the portraits of Soviet era leaders. In this painting, Russian Communist leader Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924) is depicted in black outline and in the iconic upside-down composition for which Baselitz is known. The title references the artist’s first controversy; the painting Die groβe Nacht im Eimer (1962-3), in which a deformed human figure is depicted masturbating, was confiscated following its first exhibition in West Berlin. The portrait of Lenin is overlaid with dripping white paint which simultaneously obscures and smears the image of the leader. Georg Baselitz Ili Uli in der Nacht, 2009 Oil on canvas 200 x 162 cm This painting is included in our group show, Other Images of Man, which features approximately sixty works by more than thirty artists produced from the 1960s to today. This multi-generational survey explores figuration in painting, photography, sculpture, and video, that expands and upends earlier representations of masculinity and the male form. Visit our website or click the link in our profile for more information. Installation view: Roman März #hallartfoundation #hall_collection #schlossderneburg #kunstmuseumschlossderneburg #georgbaselitz