Immendorff is most celebrated for his “Café Deutschland” artworks from the late 70s and early 80s, which depict a conceptual cabaret-nightclub space in which a disparate cast of cultural and political characters could convene and interact. At Café Deutschland, the complexities of a divided Germany could be explored and reconciled.

The title of this Café Deutschland work, “Chapel by the Wayside”, references the nickname Immendorff gave La Paloma, the bar he ran in Hamburg. In the bottom right corner of the painting, Lenin sits with Walter Ulbricht, Markus Lüpertz and Michael Werner. In the adjoining booth, A.R. Penck sits listening. Immendorff appears in the center of the painting as a waiter. On the walls, Immendorff has recreated artwork his friends had given him to furnish La Paloma.