Georg Baselitz (b.1938) grew up in East Germany where he was isolated from Western European advances in art. In 1956 he emigrated to West Berlin to continue his studies, having been expelled from the Academy of Art in East Berlin for non-compliance to the official guidelines for artistic practise. At this point he adopted the surname Baselitz, reflecting his birthplace, Deutschbaselitz, in Saxony. Baselitz's early experiences with printmaking began at a municipal workshop for artists in West Berlin. He started with etching and soon turned to woodcut. During a stay in Florence in 1965, he discovered sixteenth-century Mannerist prints whose imagery, particularly the depiction of the human body, had a lasting impact on his own cast of figure types. Through Baselitz’s long career pathos and identity have been recurring themes developed though his distinctive poetic imagery. Most unique of all is the inversion of his compositions, turned upside-down, in what has become his very own revolutionary format; a stance which bares opportunities to explore abstract qualities of the figure and psyche.