Year 1963 (1963) Created 1962–1963 | Medium oil on canvas People also search for Fettecke, Woodmen | |
 | ||
Dimensions 250 cm × 180 cm (98 in × 71 in) | ||
Die große Nacht im Eimer (The Big Night Down The Drain) is a painting by the German painter Georg Baselitz. It was painted in the years 1962–1963 and hangs today in the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, Germany.
One interpretation is that the painting shows a boy after masturbating, while another is that it depicts a hideous dwarf (with Hitler hairdo) with a penis of grotesque size. In both cases, the focus of the painting is sex, and Baselitz's primary objective was to shock his audience. Baselitz said he used the erect organ "as an aggressive act or shock", and it was with attitude the genitals represent that was offensive. It was a caricature to remind the Germans of World War II.
In October 1963, the work, as well as the picture Der nackte Mann, shown in the West Berlin gallery Werner & Katz, was seized by the public prosecutor's office because of immorality. The criminal proceedings ended in 1965 with the return of the pictures.