Lot 199 D

When the recently elected John Paul II, the first non-Italian pope in almost five hundred years, visited his Polish homeland in June 1979, he exerted great influence on the church and on politics in Poland with this trip. It was the first visit of a pope to a socialist and therefore formally atheist country. The head of the church was enthusiastically received by the Polish population, his sermons and speeches in front of huge crowds often contained political messages concerning religious freedom and the value of human rights. Catholicism as well as the self-awareness of the Polish population experienced a significant boost due to his influence. Thus, during the mass strikes in the summer of 1980, the workers referred to the Pope who openly supported their demands and mediated in the ensuing state crisis over the union Solidarnosc and its leader Lech Walesa.
Against this background, A.R. Penck created his 9-part series “Pope in Poland” in 1982. With immense narrative pleasure, he refers to stations of the Pope's visit and the thematic motifs of the political and social situation in Poland, implementing them in his characteristic visual language with striking black and white contrasts.