Neo-Expressionist Georg Baselitz Dies at 88, Final Works to Debut in Venice
Georg Baselitz, the famous German Neo-Expressionist artist known for his striking and sometimes provocative style, died on April 30 at the age of 88. His final pieces will be showcased in the exhibition "Eroi d'Oro," which opens on May 6 at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice. His gallery, Thaddeus Ropac, announced his passing. Born in Deutschbaselitz, Saxony, in 1938, he lived through the Allied bombing of Dresden and studied at art academies in both East and West Berlin. Influenced by American Abstract Expressionism after 1958, his famous "Heroes" series from the 1960s reflected on Germany's WWII past. He gained attention for his upside-down paintings in 1969, and a major retrospective at the Guggenheim in 1995 showcased his large works. In his later years, he explored aging in pieces like "Surdororeal" (2019), with his last work, "What is, is was not" (2025), depicting emaciated figures in darkness. Baselitz stirred controversy in 2013 with comments about women's painting abilities.
Key facts
- Georg Baselitz died April 30 at age 88
- Final exhibition 'Eroi d'Oro' opens May 6 at Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice
- Born in Deutschbaselitz, Saxony in 1938
- Witnessed Allied bombing of Dresden
- Studied at Academy of Fine and Applied Arts in East Berlin and Academy of Arts in West Berlin
- First solo show at Galerie Werner & Katz in 1963 had two paintings seized as obscene
- Inaugurated upside-down paintings in 1969
- 1995 survey at Guggenheim Museum
- 2013 Der Spiegel interview: 'Women cannot paint very well'
- Final painting 'What is, is was not' (2025) features upside-down emaciated figures
Entities
Artists
- Georg Baselitz
- Joseph Beuys
- Gerhard Richter
- Jackson Pollock
- Willem de Kooning
- Edvard Munch
- Philip Guston
- Anselm Kiefer
- Helen Frankenthaler
- Kiki Smith
- Robert Isaf
- Johanna 'Elke' Kretzschmar
- Daniel Blau
- Anton Kern
- Elke Kretzschmar
- Hans-Georg Kern
- Igor Stravinsky
- Jean Fautrier
- Jean Dubuffet
- Auguste Rodin
- Elke
- Wassily Kandinsky
- Kazimir Malevič
- A.R. Penck
- Sol LeWitt
- Donald Judd
- Julian Schnabel
- Sandro Chia
- Francesco Clemente
- Enzo Cucchi
- Roy Lichtenstein
- Elke Baselitz
- Tracey Emin
- Artemisia Gentileschi
- Pablo Picasso
- Francis Bacon
- Antonin Artaud
- Chaissac
- Michaux
- Picabia
Institutions
- Thaddeus Ropac
- Fondazione Giorgio Cini
- Academy of Fine and Applied Arts in East Berlin
- Academy of Arts in West Berlin
- Universität der Künste Berlin
- Galerie Werner & Katz
- Guggenheim Museum
- Der Spiegel
- The Guardian
- Artnet News
- University of Fine and Applied Arts in East Berlin
- Art Academy of Dresden
- Berlin University of the Arts
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Fondation Beyeler
- documenta 5
- Venice Biennale
- Gagosian
- Sotheby's London
- Thaddaeus Ropac
- East Berlin Academy
- Hochschule für Bildende Künst
- Kunsthistorisches Museum
- Centre Pompidou
- The Art Newspaper
- Dasartes
- École des beaux-arts de Berlin-Ouest
- Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Karlsruhe
- musée d'Art moderne de la Ville de Paris
- Museum Ludwig
- Werner & Katz
- Biennale di Venezia
- Reichstag
- Museo Novecento
- Palazzo Medici Riccardi
- Hungarian National Museum
- Comune di Firenze
- Artribune
- exibart.com
- Accademia di Berlino Est
- Die Brücke
- Galerie Thaddeus Ropac
- Académie des Beaux-Arts
- Kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM)
- Documenta
- Thaddaeus Ropac gallery
- Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac
- Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art
- Hirshhorn Museum
- Nationalgalerie Berlin
- Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris
- Royal Academy of Arts
- Pinakothek der Moderne
- Albertina
- Städel Museum
- Moderna Museet
- Palazzo delle Esposizioni
- Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
- Musée Unterlinden
- Académie des Beaux-Arts de Paris
- Gallerie dell’Accademia
- Martin-Gropius-Bau
- White Cube Bermondsey
- Cristea Roberts Gallery
- Musée Novecento
- Seemannskirche Prerow
- Kode Art Museum
- Munch Museum
- Bilbao Fine Arts Museum
- Rupertinum
- Museum of Modern Art Salzburg
- Festspielhaus Salzburg
- Derneburg Castle Art Museum
- Dresden Art Academy
- Weißensee Academy
- Hochschule für Bildende Künste
- documenta
- Artlyst
- Museo di Palazzo Grimani
- designboom
- Galerie Ropac
- Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris
- Hochschule der Künste
- German Pavilion of the Venice Biennale
Locations
- Deutschbaselitz
- Saxony
- Germany
- Dresden
- East Berlin
- West Berlin
- Venice
- Italy
- East Germany
- Florence
- New York
- Basel
- Upper Lusatia
- Vienna
- Paris
- San Giorgio Maggiore
- Berlin
- German Democratic Republic
- Salzburg
- Lake Geneva
- Saxe
- Berlin-Ouest
- Karlsruhe
- Cologne
- Bilbao
- Kamenz
- Tuscany
- Budapest
- Kassel
- United States
- Isola San Giorgio Maggiore
- Lake Ammersee
- Bavaria
- Austria
- Imperia
- Liguria
- Los Angeles
- Washington D.C.
- France
- London
- United Kingdom
- Munich
- Frankfurt
- Stockholm
- Sweden
- Rome
- Spain
- Switzerland
- Colmar
- Holle
- Bergen
- Norway
- Sørenga
- Milan
- Prerow
- Burkina Faso
- Charlottenburg
- Ammersee
- Upper Lausitz