German Artist Georg Baselitz Dies at 88

German artist Georg Baselitz, a pioneering painter, sculptor, and printmaker, who was known for his methods of painting subjects upside down, has died at age 88. Baselitz is recognized as one of the founders of the Neo-Expressionist movement that swept over Europe in the 1970s and is famed for his unique method of inverting representational direction so that the viewer could focus on his expressive mark-making rather than the figure portrayed.

“A pioneer of postwar German painting, printmaking, drawing, and sculpture, he profoundly influenced the direction of contemporary art, returning the human figure to a central position and continually renewing his practice,” the Gagosian team wrote on Thursday. “We were privileged to have collaborated with this extraordinary artist for the past 25 years, presenting 17 gallery exhibitions dedicated to his work. Georg will be sorely missed by all who worked with him and admired him so much. Our heartfelt sympathies are with his wife, Elke Baselitz, and with their sons, their grandchildren, and the entire studio team.”

Baselitz faced a scandalous start, with his first solo exhibition in 1963 resulting in a police raid. He reached international fame in 1980 when he represented Germany alongside Anselm Kiefer at the Venice Biennale, although his Modell für eine Skulptur (Model for a Sculpture), (1979–80) was met with controversy.

Over the span of his career, he was the subject of major retrospectives at the Guggenheim Museum and the Royal Academy of Arts. He received numerous accolades, and his work continues to receive critical acclaim at exhibitions currently on view across Europe.

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