The Last Interview with the Great Artist Georg Baselitz on the Occasion of His Exhibition in Florence

Georg Baselitz, the German artist born in 1938, is the subject of a major retrospective titled "Avanti!" at the Museo Novecento in Florence, featuring 170 works including paintings, works on paper, and sculptures, with a strong focus on his graphic output. The exhibition, curated by Sergio Risaliti and Daniel Blau (Baselitz's son and an artist himself), spans three floors and traces the evolution of Baselitz's practice, culminating in a dialogue with the work of Italian artist Ottone Rosai. The show is accompanied by a prequel exhibition honoring the 120th anniversary of Villa Romana, where Baselitz once held a fellowship, and will be followed by another exhibition at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice in May, which together with the Florence show form the artist's testament. Artribune published Baselitz's last interview in its new bimonthly issue.

This article matters because it documents the final major exhibition and last interview of one of the most influential living German artists, whose career has been defined by his radical inversion of figures and his critical engagement with post-war German identity. The Florence retrospective not only marks a homecoming for Baselitz, who maintained a deep connection with Tuscany since the 1960s, but also serves as a capstone to his life's work, offering a comprehensive overview of his themes and evolution. The interview provides rare insight into his views on art, technology, and the role of the artist in times of global crisis, making it a significant cultural document for art historians and the public alike.