German artist Georg Baselitz has died at age 88, as confirmed by the Thaddaeus Ropac gallery. Known for his expressive paintings and sculptures, Baselitz rose to prominence in the 1960s after a scandal over sexually symbolic works led to a high-profile court case. He pioneered painting canvases upside down from 1969 onward, a technique he used to grapple with German history and collective guilt. His work spanned six decades and included notable sculptures, such as a wooden figure at the 1980 Venice Biennale that appeared to perform a Nazi salute, which he later clarified was inspired by an African artifact. Baselitz achieved international acclaim in the 1980s and became one of Germany's highest-priced living artists, alongside Gerhard Richter.
Baselitz's death marks the end of an era for post-war German art, as he was a key figure alongside Richter and Anselm Kiefer in confronting the traumas of Nazism and the Cold War division. His provocative methods—inverting motifs, using aggressive techniques like axe and chainsaw on wood, and his outspoken views on gender and the art market—ensured his work remained contentious and influential. His legacy lies in how he forced viewers to reconsider perspective and national identity, making him a defining voice in contemporary visual art for a generation.