‘There is no such thing as being sensible’ The great German painter Georg Baselitz turns 88

Georg Baselitz is considered one of the most important contemporary German painters. A conversation about hatred and freedom after the decision to turn the world upside down.

Interview by Reinhard J. Brembeck

Georg Baselitz's rugged facial features are reminiscent of his portraits and sculptures as he enters his light-filled studio on Lake Ammersee, designed by architects Herzog & de Meuron, in his wheelchair. New paintings, some over four metres high, line the walls. Some show his wife Elke Kretzschmar, painted in black on a gold background; the couple have been married since 1962. In others, he has portrayed himself in gold on a black background. Parts of this cycle will soon be presented at the Palazzo Cini in Venice under the title ‘Baselitz eroi d'oro’. In all these paintings, both the man and the woman are upside down, which is the trademark of the world-famous artist, who was born 87 years ago in Deutschbaselitz, Saxony (hence his artist name). He celebrates his 88th birthday on 23 January. Time for a conversation.

SZ: Why are your new paintings so huge, over four metres high?

Georg Baselitz: There are no sensible reasons for it. There is no such thing as being sensible. The main reason for a painting is to hate someone, to be against them. And that's not just a motivation, it can also go further. For me, it goes further. These paintings here in the studio are 4.70 metres tall. I don't know of any collector's wall that could accommodate such a painting. So it's complete nonsense to do something like this for the market.

And then there's the golden background, which is very old-fashioned.

Gold is about going on a treasure hunt and getting rich without working. It's a recurring theme in old Westerns. Gold is something that takes up space, takes up shadows, takes up spatiality: icon painting, mummy portraits. And on top of that, just a drawing, like on a piece of paper, a nude drawing: it's pretty silly, but it makes sense as aggression, as an attack. Add to that the enormous size and the semi-disabled artist.

So you sitting in a wheelchair.

Yes.

You are always looking for opposition.

I often say that I want to paint the daftest picture. I tried that at school. Or tried to make music that would put everyone to sleep. That is, to take the meaning out of the whole thing, to empty it. I still have that intention. But the result is something else. Like with the destroyed or damaged music. Since I've been working for so damn long, no one believes I'm capable of the malice I used to have. I try to revive it, but you can't revive it because the train has already left the station.