Background Image

Georg Baselitz

"I didn’t just walk into my atelier one day and take a canvas and paint upside down."

Pic

Notes of biography

Georg Hans Kern takes part of his surname from his native town of Deutschbaselitz, when he moves to West Berlin. Baselitz was born in 1938. He starts his studies at the Superior School of Arts in East Berlin between 1956-1957, then again from 1958-1964 in West Berlin under Hann Trier. He discovers the writings of Lautreamont, of Artaud and the paintings of the abstract expressionists. He directs a manifesto in 1961, then a second the following year, where he expresses a desire to break with the abstract esthetic.
His first exhibition in 1963 at the Werner and Katz Gallery in Berlin provokes a scandal because two of the paintings are judged to be obscene. In 1966, for an exhibition in Berlin, he published a manifesto entitled « The Great Friends ». Little by little his work becomes diversified; Baselitz paints, but also draws, engraves and sculpts.
In 1977, he is appointed professor at the Academy of Art in Karlsruhe, and then later, from 1983 to 1988 at the Superior School of Applied Art in Berlin. Baselitz belongs to a generation of German painters that appropriate the wounded german heritage of Nazism. In search of a national identity, drawing from the depths of their german roots, they introduce a national pictorial language that will be baptised as « neo-expressionism ». Baselitz will study in a context strongly marked by American abstraction at that of the School of Paris. Without a doubt tied to his need for assertion, his paintings become provocative. The work of Baselitz is characterized by a rapid and jerky evolution. His first style, more or less informal, with thick and heavy brushwork, is quickly abandoned.
It’s towards 1965 that appear the paintings named « heros », men situated in the impossibility of comminicating with the world that surronds them. In 1967, the motifs of his paintings become jagged. It is in 1969 that Baselitz creates paintings with the reversed patters, all the subjects of his personal repertoire are thus upside down (figures, trees, houses, etc.), the artist declares to have found the liberty to finally confront pictoral problems. Baselitz is one of the greatest engravers of the 20th century; from 1963, his graphics take on an important place in his work, his etchings and wood engravings multiply. Baselitz equally produces monumental lithographs.
From 1967 his engravings refer to paintings. The tormented work of Baselitz is surprisingly violent and radical, the artist represents the world as he perceives it : « the wrong way around, such as it is ».

Artists on display

The art and the artists display: proclamations, galleries, museums, personal or collective exhibitions. On walls or in shop windows, wise or rebels, posters warn, argue, show. Some were specially conceived by an artist for such or such event, other, colder, have only the letter.

Some were created in lithographic technic, most are simple offset reproductions. They are many those who like collecting these rectangles of paper, monochrome or in games of colours, in matt paper or brilliant, with many words or almost dumb.

We are happy also to be able to greet, by this pages, mythical galleries as those of Denise René, Louis Carré, Claude Bernard, Berheim Jeune, Maeght, Pierre Loeb and others.

Pic

Complete work(s)

Complete work(s)
*«Gravures, 1963-1983», G. Baselitz, S. Gohr et R. Mason, Cabinet des Estampes, Genève, 1984 All the complete works

Bibliographic track and more

To read about the artist :
  • «Baselitz, Sculptures», CAPC, Bordeaux, 1983
  • «Georg Baselitz», Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, 1985
  • «Baselitz, rétrospective», D. Waldman, Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1995
  • «Baselitz», S. Pagé, MAM de la ville de Paris, 1996
  • «Georg Baselitz, Werke 1981-1993», Ed. Art Books Intl Ltd, 1998.
  • «Baselitz», Andreas Frazke, Ed. Cercle d'Art, 1998
  • «Georg Baselitz: Watercolors», Eckman Gallery, Ed. Nolan, 2008.
  • «Georg Baselitz: Skulpturen/Sculptures», Ed. Gestalten, 2010.
  • «Baselitz sculpteur», Dominique Gagneux et divers, Ed. Paris Musées, 2011
  • «Georg Baselitz», Cat. d'Expo, Fondation Beyeler, Ed. Hatje Cantz, 2018
To read from the artist :
  • «La bella maniera», H. Cousseau, E. Brugerolles, G. Baselitz, ENSBA, Paris, 2002
  • «Ce que tu n’es pas est un autoportrait», Georg Baselitz, Ed. Les presses du réel, 2002
Website :
www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/baselitz

More :


Art movements

+ GERMAN NEW EXPRESSIONNISM / 1975-1985 / Karl Horst Hödicke, Luciano Castelli, Walter Dahn, Jiri Georg Dokoupil, Rainer Fetting, Anselm Kiefer, etc.
+ NEW FIGURATION / 1960-1980 / Gilles Aillaud, Christian Babou, John Christoforou, Leonardo Cremonini, François Jousselin, Maryan S. Maryan, Bernard Recalcati, Gérard Tisserand, etc.
All art movements

See & discover

Beyond works currently in stock, it seemed to me useful to combine business with pleasure by letting you discover others works by artists in my gallery. These artworks, now sold or removed from our website, have been in our stock in the past.

These pages will undoubtedly make it possible for some of you to associate an image with its title or the other way round, for others it will be a good time to discover more on such and such artist. For the sake of confidentiality – the pieces being no longer available – we won't display neither their numbering or their price. For whatever reason, make sure to visit this amazing art database with to date 6441 online works just for your pleasure! Michelle Champetier

See & discover