''Rebel'' () is an oil on canvas painting by German artist

Georg Baselitz Georg Baselitz (born 23 January 1938) is a German Painting, painter, Sculpture, sculptor and Graphic arts, graphic artist. In the 1960s he became well known for his Figurative art, figurative, expressive paintings. In 1969 he began painting his ...

, created in 1965. The painting has the dimensions of 162.7 cm by 130.2 cm and is held at the

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery in London, housing the United Kingdom's national collection of international Modern art, modern and contemporary art (created from or after 1900). It forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Live ...

, in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

.Tate.org.uk: ''Rebel''
/ref>Tate.org.uk: ''Rebel'' (2)
/ref>

Description and analysis

The painting belongs to a series that Baselitz did in the 1960s depicting male characters, who tend to dominate the space of the canvas, representing archetypes, like heroes and rebels. They are related often to the recent or current situation of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. This figure seems inspired by the recent events of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, is possibly a soldier, and is shown wounded, bloody and limping, even with a smile on his face. His body appears strangely almost transparent, as it offers a glimpse of his viscous entrails. As a reference to a war, the character holds in one hand the pole of a flag, or perhaps a paintbrush, while his other hand is bandaged. The background is entirely dark, while a burning house is seen in the distance.TheArtStory.org: Georg Baselitz
/ref> Baselitz's depiction appears inspired by his childhood memories of the war, while his style bears references to German Romantic depiction of heroes and heroism, and to German

Expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

denunciation of the cruelty of wars. According to Gunter Gercken the character is "a peaceful fighter, a green hero, a partisan against war, armed not with a machine gun but with a paintbrush and palette". Instead of a hero of the past it represents a wounded and dishevelled anti-hero of his time.ArtUK.org: ''Rebel''
/ref>

References

1965 paintings Paintings by Georg Baselitz Portraits of men Paintings in the Tate galleries Oil on canvas paintings Works about World War II {{20C-painting-stub