Georg Baselitz

Exhibition label: Baselitz has often painted dogs, most of whom he has known personally. Tama, however, has an art-historical pedigree. This drawing is based on Édouard Manet's painting Tama, the Japanese Dog (ca. 1875), which depicts a spaniel that Manet's friend Henri Cernuschi, a banker and collector, had brought back to Paris from Japan. Baselitz playfully doubled the image, representing the dog right side up and upside down. He also endowed Tama with a sacred aura by surrounding her with rays.