Paint It Black II

This photographic base was shot in Cologne, Germany.

Printed on Fine Art Hahnemühle Hemp Natural Line 290 g/m2.

Each print comes signed and numbered. 

Unframed. With a small white border. Send in a tube.

Print size 90 x 75 cm - Edition of 10

Print size 60 x 50 cm - Edition of 10.

Print size 30 x 25 cm - Edition of 10.

Print size 10,5 x 14,8 cm (DIN A6) - Open Edition.

Where shadows spill and the body whispers of rebellion.

Some artworks creep into your consciousness like the scent of burnt toast at dawn—unexpected, haunting, and unforgettable. Thomas Haensgen’s "Paint it Black II" is precisely such a creation. It’s not just a photograph; it’s an unapologetic moment of raw humanity captured in black ink and flesh.

Reclining in vulnerable repose, the model’s body becomes a canvas for a dance of contrasts. The paint doesn’t flow gracefully; it’s rebellious, erratic, like a tempest etched onto skin. The black streaks drip with a heavy-handed defiance, evoking a feeling of gravity reimagined. The delicate softness of the figure’s posture is pierced by the jagged lines of ink, forming a tension between fragility and chaos. It’s as though the subject rests in uneasy truce with the very forces trying to shroud her.

Haensgen’s work, though thoroughly modern, nods subtly to the art historical tradition. There’s a whisper of Egon Schiele’s erotic, jagged explorations of the body. But where Schiele’s works crackle with nervous energy, "Paint it Black II" exudes calm amidst disorder—a serenity laced with turmoil. The drips of black also echo the chaos of Abstract Expressionism, evoking Pollock’s unrestrained freedom, yet grounded in a deeply personal exploration of identity and mortality.

A Visceral Dialogue: Life, Death, and the In-Between. But what makes this work exceptional is its layered storytelling. The black paint becomes a metaphor: is it a mask, an intrusion, or a natural extension of the body? The photograph invites the viewer to sit in that ambiguity, much like life itself—messy, beautiful, and unrelentingly complex. "Paint it Black II" feels like the visual equivalent of that time you spilled coffee on your favorite book. You’re heartbroken at first, but then realize the stain is a new story written onto the old. The image embodies this duality—a reminder that beauty lies not in perfection, but in the marks left behind by chaos.