Georg Baselitz, German painter of 'reversal', has died

By Stefano Bucci

German artist Georg Baselitz, a central figure in European contemporary art, known for his provocative works that sparked controversy in West Germany before achieving international recognition, has died at the age of 88. Born on January 23, 1938, in Deutschbaselitz, a small town in Saxony, Georg Baselitz was born into a context of great historical turmoil and profound social change. Raised in a Europe shaken by the Second World War, the future artist entered a time of uncertainty, but also of a burning desire for expression and reflection on his own time. His early artistic training was not immediately avant-garde: he studied applied arts at the Academy of East Berlin, but it would be the influences of German tradition, the memory of the fragmented past of his homeland, and the wounds of war that would shape his artistic vision.

In the 1960s, Baselitz decided to follow his own path, far from the official canons of mainstream contemporary art. His first major innovation was found in his "breaking" with the classical rules of representation. As early as 1963, his work began to take on a strong identity: subjects drawn from everyday life or popular imagery were reinterpreted in an intense, raw, and often grotesque manner. His technique was already distinguished by his bold use of colour, often applied densely and omitting soft shading, but above all by his tendency to disrupt traditional academic perspective. Baselitz inverted compositions and often painted his figures upside down, creating images that defied the laws of ordinary perception, creating a disturbing and provocative effect. Hence his nickname, "the painter of inversion" (well illustrated in two monographic exhibitions, one at the Museo Novecento in Florence until September 13th and the other from May 6th at the Fondazione Cini in Venice).