Organised by Norman Rosenthal and Christos Joachimedes, Zeitgeist opened 40 years ago, on 15th October 1982, presenting an intent reflection on contemporary art and politics in Europe and America. Baselitz’s presentation in Zeitgeist included eight large-scale compositions which hung several meters above the ground, evoking a frieze of stained-glass windows. Employing compressed, irregular brushwork, the artist powerfully conveys the mood and experience of his enigmatic figures. Lying in bed or anxiously looking out of the window, each figure seems isolated and vulnerable, suggesting the unseen horror of external events. Dramatically bent at the neck, the protagonist in Sterne im Fenster (1982) appears constricted by the surroundings, reaching for a window frame with his eyes closed. The image of a window evident throughout the series becomes particularly poignant in the context of the 1982 exhibition – the Martin-Gropius-Bau was situated so close to the Berlin Wall, that the original main entrance was closed, with the only possible access from the back of the building. #GeorgBaselitz #SkarstedtGallery Images: Georg Baselitz, ‘Sterne im Fenster (Stars in the Window), 1982, oil on canvas, 98 1/2 × 98 1/2 in. (250 × 250 cm). © Georg Baselitz. / Installation view of Zeitgeist (1982). © Jochen Littkemann, Berlin.