Since the 1960s, Hermann Nitsch has defied traditional boundaries of painting, sculpture and performance. His famous, and indeed, infamous performances are provocative works that challenge our ideas of violence, transgression and pain. Nitsch's ‘Splatter' paintings exist as relics from the ritualistic and existential spectacles staged by the artist. With its utterly forceful display of paint and blood, the present lot expresses a terrifying but undeniable sense of beauty. Corporeally and metaphysically, the work conveys a potent contemplation of life and violence.