Lot 657 D

Jonas Burgert originally painted the painting Kleinmann in 2005. Following irreparable damage, the artist repainted it in 2010/2011 and titled it Kleinmann II verso. A letter from the artist to this effect is attached.
„My main interest lies in the phenomenon of the human being and the problem of his self-determination. Man does not know what man is. We do not have a criterion; we have to continuously redetermine our coordinates. In this reflection of the self we are permanently searching. We are not simply instinctive beings. We disguise ourselves; take on a subordinate role to a culture, a ceremony, a rite, a trend, a religion. I don't know how many thousands of Gods man has invented in order to find himself in God. Contrary to animals, man quarrels with his fate, his definition. It is this phenomenon I am interested in. When you see a monkey, he looks like a monkey, or a dog looks like a dog. But a man does not just look like a man; he is disguised and bears the insignia of his respective culture. This phenomenon is interests me with regards to the entire history of humanity, which is why I use very archaic figures. The painting of skin as an element of a tribal culture five thousand years ago may well have been governed by the same desire: the desire for spiritual representation - of self-perception. The desire to be part of a greater context. With my figures, I hope to paint a symbol for man. My interest does not relate to the actual individual but rather to his spiritual twilight zone, whereby the archaic, the inner, and the illusionary principle also apply. Ten figurative states representing an individual can be formulated. (Jonas Burgert im Gespräch mit Heinz Dietz, in: Jonas Burgert, Schutt und Futter, exhib.cat. Kestnergesellschaft Hannover, Cologne 2013, p.22)