Georg Baselitz, German neo-expressionist painter, dies at 88

Georg Baselitz, the renowned German artist celebrated for his inverted artworks, has passed away at the age of 88. Born Hans-Georg Kern in 1938 in Deutschbaselitz, Saxony, he experienced the devastation of Dresden's bombing at just seven years old. After being expelled from East Berlin's Academy of Fine and Applied Arts in 1957, he relocated to the Academy of Art in West Berlin, adopting the name Baselitz in honor of his hometown. Baselitz's style, influenced by Art Brut, Dada, Surrealism, and Existentialist literature, rejected both socialist realism and abstraction. His first upside-down painting, 'Der Wald auf dem Kopf' (The Wood on Its Head), emerged in 1969. He gained international recognition as a neo-expressionist in the late 1970s and 1980s. At the 1980 Venice Biennale, he represented Germany alongside Anselm Kiefer, showcasing a controversial chainsaw-carved sculpture resembling a Nazi salute. Baselitz continued to create until his passing; his latest works will be displayed at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice from 6 May to 21 September.