remembering Georg Baslitz
The art world is mourning the death of Georg Baselitz (1938–2026), a defining force in postwar painting whose work reshaped the trajectory of modern art. In a career spanning more than six decades, Baselitz forged a language that addressed history, identity and representation with unrelenting intensity, leaving a body of work that continues to resonate across generations.
‘It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of Georg Baselitz, a titan of contemporary painting, sculpture, drawing and printmaking,‘ reads a statement released after his death, which was announced on Thursday, April 30, 2026. ‘A regular innovator and one of the most important artists of our time, he had a profound influence on his fellow artists and the international art world throughout his career.‘
His works, held in major museum collections worldwide, are enduring markers of this influence.
George Baselic. photo © Elke Baselitz, courtesy of Gagosian
a life shaped by rupture and reinvention
Born Hans-Georg Kern in Saxony, Georg Baselich came of age in the shadow of war and division, experiences that informed an artistic practice defined by rupture and reinvention. He developed a unique visual vocabulary, best known for turning his subjects upside down to disrupt conventional ways of seeing and redefine the relationship between image and viewer.
As noted in Robert Isaf’s obituary, he “defined German visual art for a generation” and created work embedded in a larger cultural and historical narrative.
Reflecting on his own process, Baselitz once described it as an excavation: ‘I started with drawings and paintings, in a digging, drilling, eavesdropping, ruminating, mining way, as I thought about what was behind or underneath.Over decades, this search produced an extensive and evolving body of work culminating in late pieces that revisited and contained a lifetime of themes.
Georg Baselitz at Arsenal, Venice Biennale, 2015. image © Jean-Pierre Dalbera
a lasting influence on contemporary art
‘Georg Baselitz shaped a new identity for German art in the second half of the 20th century and had a far-reaching impact on the international art world.‘ the statement continues, acknowledging both the depth of his legacy and the uniqueness of his vision.
His practice was constantly renewed through official developments. He responded to both art history and his own work while maintaining a language that was distinct and recognizable.
Looking back on his career in 2026, Baselitz reflected on the scope and conclusion: ‘I have a long biography to look back on. I’ve painted an incredibly large number of pictures over the course of more than 60 years… Now that I’m pretty much at the end of my painting career, I thought I should come to a conclusion.‘
installation view, Georg Baselitz: Archinto, Museo di Palazzo Grimani, Venice, 2021–2022. photo © Matteo De Fina
Georg Baselitz works on Madame Demoiselle a long away from the coast (2019). photo © Elke Baselitz, 2021
Georg Baselitz, The Painter in His Bed, 2022. © Georg Baselitz, photo Jochen Littkemann
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Georg Baselitz, Adler, 2021. © Georg Baselitz, photo by Rob McKeever
Georg Baselitz, dear Marcel Duchamp, you stole it from Picasso! (Dear Marcel Duchamp, You Stole That from Picasso!), 2016. © Georg Baselitz, photo Jochen Littkemann
Georg Baselitz, Orangenesser (IX) (Orangeeater (IX)), 1981. © Georg Baselitz, 2018, photo Friedrich Rosenstiel, Cologne
Georg Baselitz, Was that there before?, 2019. © Georg Baselitz, photo by Jochen Littkemann
Georg Baselitz, Birnbaum II (Pear Tree II), 1980. © Georg Baselitz
