Like many artists before him, Sigmar Polke also undertook countless trips to Italy. In the 1980s in particular, he spent several months on the peninsula, visiting Rome, Venice, Naples, Capri, Ravenna, Pisa, and Siena, among other places.
Polke captured his impressions in photographs and on 16-mm film: The images of everyday situations, historical sites, and works of art represent independent, artistic reflections on his experiences. At the same time, they illustrate that Polke was just as interested in everyday scenes and personal encounters as he was in the country’s historical painting traditions and visual worlds.
The latter find their way directly into Polke’s work as visual references: To this end, the artist drew upon the canon of so-called high culture as well as pop-cultural motifs without regard for supposed hierarchies, referencing ancient iconography just as much as contemporary sources. By appropriating these motives, transforming them, and placing them in new contexts, he created new layers of meaning and challenged conventional ways of seeing.
