Georg Baselitz – An artist turns paintings upside down

Georg Baselitz most important German painters and sculptors for almost half a century ; he is perhaps the most famous contemporary German artist, and yet for many Germans, his name evokes nothing more than: "Isn't that the one with the paintings on his head?"

Yes, that's correct. However, there's more to tell about Baselitz: Georg Baselitz was born in 1938 in Deutschbaselitz, which is located in Upper Lusatia. After graduating from high school in 1956, he studied painting at the Berlin-Weißensee Academy of Art. His professors included the independent Lovis Corinth student Herbert Behrens-Hangeler, but also Walter Womacka, whom Axel Hecht described as a "comrade artist" (in arte 12/2008, pp. 74-79).

Georg Baselitz, a painter, graphic artist, and sculptor, is considered a defining post-war artist . He rejected abstraction and instead favored clear, recognizable themes. He deliberately employed a rough style of representation and a more intense color palette to express immediate emotions. By engaging with German Expressionism, , Baselitz brought the human figure back into focus in painting.

Civic immaturity in the GDR and relocation to West Berlin

GDR quickly became apparent , and after only two semesters he was expelled from the university for "civic immaturity".

In 1956, Georg Baselitz took a significant step in his artistic career when he transferred to the Academy of Art in West Berlin. This decision marked not only a geographical move but also a decisive turning point in his development as a painter. During his studies in the vibrant metropolis, then a center for contemporary art and cultural developments, Baselitz was able to further refine his skills and develop his own style.

In 1962, he finally completed his studies, thus entering a new phase of his artistic career. To honor his roots and connection to his origins, he decided at this time to adopt the surname "Baselitz ." This step symbolized his deep connection to his birthplace.

Inspiration from abstract artists and art from the psychiatric context

In Berlin, he had free access to all kinds of knowledge about art. The young Baselitz was particularly impressed by the works of Wassily Kandinsky , Kazimir Malevich , and Ernst Wilhelm Nay , whose theories he studied extensively.

He also travelled to Paris and Amsterdam, explored the work of Antonin Artaud and Jean Dubuffet , and was fascinated by the Prinzhorn Collection, the first anthology of artistic works from the psychiatric context.

In 1961 he felt ready to begin his own work and cheerfully adopted the artist name Georg Baselitz (which is based on his birthplace, as clever combiners have already guessed at the beginning of the article).

Rebellion against esotericism and prevailing fashions in the art world

The art scene in the capital, this "whole harmonious soup in which everything just drifted along blandly" (Baselitz in Welt Online, February 4, 2012), was also not to Baselitz's liking. Baselitz felt that the art academy was occupied by esotericists, while Buddhism was the prevailing fashion; he and his colleague Eugen Schönebeck therefore had to and wanted to attract attention in other ways.

was met with devastating criticism, for example in the Berlin daily newspaper "Tagesspiegel"

Against this petit-bourgeois view of art, Baselitz and Schönebeck wrote the “1st Pandemonial Manifesto” in 1961, followed in 1962 by the “2nd Pandemonial Manifesto,” critical writings that proclaimed with powerful rhetorical artillery the resolute stance against everything coherent and conventional that would henceforth permeate Baselitz’s entire oeuvre.

This attitude, however, led to a major art scandal when Baselitz, inspired by a newspaper article about the rebellious Irish poet Brendan Behan, who had recited poems drunk and with his trousers open on a large stage, painted three versions of his "Great Night," each featuring a

“A strange fellow who grabs his penis.” (Baselitz, so).

“The Big Night Down the Drain” was met with dismay by Berliners at his first solo exhibition at the Werner & Katz Gallery. The painting, along with another Baselitz work, was eventually confiscated by the Berlin public prosecutor's office on suspicion of obscenity.

He was even sentenced (later overturned) to pay a fine of 400 DM, but Baselitz escaped the turmoil surrounding his art because he was awarded the Villa Romana Prize for 1965 (without having applied himself). He accepted the scholarship that came with the prize and spent a significant portion of the year at the artists' residence in Florence.

In 1966, Baselitz angrily left Berlin, and his outrage at the injustice he had suffered led him to begin developing his fractured paintings. For a time, all his pictorial motifs were broken down into strips and reassembled in this way.

The fractured paintings eventually led him in 1969 to turn his paintings upside down, an attitude for which he would become known and famous. As early as 1970, the Franz Dahlem Gallery in Cologne presented an exhibition of his work, featuring exclusively upside-down paintings.

These "upside-down" paintings brought him fame; from around 1975, Baselitz's paintings were featured in virtually all major exhibitions and museums, both in Germany and abroad. The painter was also no longer short of money; in 1971 he moved into a villa in Forst an der Weinstraße, and in 1975 he bought Derneburg Castle in Lower Saxony (which he sold again in 2006; he now lives on Lake Ammersee in Upper Bavaria).

His artistic development did not end with the upside-down pictures; there was a phase of so-called “Russian pictures” , in which Baselitz alienated the images of socialist realism that he knew from his youth in the GDR, and a phase of “remix”, in which he made older pictures of his own more contemporary and sharper from a fresh perspective.

In 1965, Baselitz began exploring the theme of "heroes ." The works "Heroes" (1965–66)—also known as "New Types" —are rendered in thick, impasto paint and depict figures placed in natural landscapes. These war-torn figures appear disheveled and fragmented, evoking a strong emotional response in the viewer as they conjure up the events of the recent past.

In the 1980s, the artist's work intensified as he incorporated a multitude of formal and art historical allusions, including the works of Edvard Munch and Emil Nolde . At the same time, he began creating large-scale sculptures from painted wood, presenting these works for the first time at the 1980 Venice Biennale , where he also unveiled a model for a sculpture (1979–80).

Furthermore, Baselitz held a professorship at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe from 1977 to 1983 and was appointed professor at the Berlin University of the Arts (from 2001 at the Berlin University of the Arts) from 1983 to 1988 and from 1992 to 2003.

Baselitz in the 21st century

The paintings Baselitz created between 1990 and 2010 represented a further shift in his artistic practice, demonstrating a more linear and abstract approach to the human figure. In the Remix series (2005–08), Baselitz revisited his earlier works, graphically reinterpreting his former themes so that their subtle meanings and technical innovations became clearer.

In 2015, Baselitz's Avignon paintings (2014)—a series of eight towering nude self-portraits—were presented at the Venice Biennale. The following year, related self-portraits with spectral figures were shown at the Gagosian Gallery , West 21st Street, New York. In 2018, a comprehensive retrospective of Baselitz's work was held at the Fondation Beyeler in Riehen/Basel, Switzerland, and at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C.

Countless exhibitions and awards

Georg Baselitz had numerous important exhibitions throughout his career. Here is a summary of some of the most significant ones:

• Biennale di Venezia (2007) Baselitz represented Germany at the 52nd Venice Biennale, one of the most prestigious art events worldwide.
• Royal Academy of Arts, London (2007-2008) This retrospective exhibition offered a comprehensive overview of Baselitz's works and marked an important milestone in his international recognition.
• Museum of Modern Art, New York (1995) This exhibition in one of the world's most famous museums solidified Baselitz's reputation as a major artist of modern art.
• Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (1996) Exhibition at the renowned Guggenheim Museum, known for its collection of modern and contemporary art.
• Kunstmuseum Bonn (2013) A thematic exhibition that focused intensively on the artist's early works and opened up new perspectives on his artistic development.
• Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich (2014-2015) A comprehensive retrospective that presented works from different creative phases and emphasized Baselitz's influence on modern art.
• Fondation Beyeler, Riehen (2018) A significant exhibition with works that highlighted the influence of European and American art on Baselitz's work.

He received countless honors , including the Goslar Kaiserring, the French Order of Arts and Letters, an honorary professorship at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, the Praemium Imperiale Award considered "Nobel Prize of the Arts") , and numerous other significant honors and (honorary) memberships. His works are represented in approximately 30 public collections in Germany and in various other European collections.

A complete list of his exhibitions and awards can be found here .

Those with a stronger sense of irony already considered it indicative of the established art world and the morality of the 1960s that the comparatively harmless (because clearly artistic) depiction of two naked men could trigger such a reaction, and that a clearly ironic exaggeration thus triggered the decisive creative crisis in Baselitz, which later led him to turn his paintings upside down. And they find it perfectly logical that it was this inverted art that then brought Baselitz "money, power, and international fame in the art world.".

More detailed information about the artist:

• Artworks for sale and selected exhibitions on Georg Baselitz
• Spiegel article “Baselitz painting fetches 2.7 million euros”

Joachim Rodriguez y Romero

Owner and Managing Director of Kunstplaza . Publicist, editor, and passionate blogger in the fields of art, design, and creativity since 2011. Graduated with a degree in web design from university (2008). Further developed creative techniques through courses in freehand drawing, expressive painting, and theatre/acting. Profound knowledge of the art market gained through years of journalistic research and numerous collaborations with key players and institutions in the arts and culture sector.

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