Karl Horst Hödicke is known as one of the pioneers of the New Figuration, a group of painters from the 1960s who favoured figurative painting to the otherwise prevailing abstraction in post-war art. Their point of reference were not Bauhaus, Informel and American post-war modernism, but rather German Expressionism and 19th-century painting. Here, Hödicke, also in his position as an academy teacher, became a particular important link between the new figurative painting of the sixties and the so-called “Junge Wilde”, who developed this artistic movement during the 1980s further and induced a more sassy, almost aggressive pop-cultural twist - among Hödicke's students, were for example Salomé and Helmut Middendorf.

In his paintings, Karl Horst Hödicke dealt intensively with German history, Symbolism and German post-war societ – just as colleagues of his generation such as Jörg Immendorff, Markus Lüpertz or AR Penck did so.

Yet, direct reference to the great masters and role models of art history also play an important part in his canon of topics. "Gefrühstückt wird im Freien" is a paraphrase of the renowned painting "Le déjeuner sur l'herbe" by Edouard Manet, one of the most central figures at the beginning of modern painting. Besides, the art-historical significance from a painterly and iconographic point of view, the scandal triggered by Manet with this painting in French 19th century society is also a vital aspect why Hödicke, like many other modern and contemporary artists, choose to reference the iconic work.

Hödicke thus inscribes himself in a tradition that aims both to refer to as well as to challenge and overcome the Masters. Setting his representation in the same canvas size as Manet, Hödicke paints his version in a far more violent, expressive gesture and alienates the composition.