Georg Baselitz, the influential German painter known for his inverted, upside-down works, gave his final interview before his death on April 30 at age 88. In the conversation, he discussed his upcoming exhibition "Eroi d’Oro [Heroes of Gold]" at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice, featuring monumental gold-primed canvases depicting nude portraits of himself and his wife Elke. Baselitz reflected on his lifelong outsider status, his refusal to follow artistic movements, and the controversial nature of his work, including his 1963 painting that led to an obscenity trial.
This interview matters because it captures the final thoughts of a towering figure in post-war German art, whose inverted paintings and unflinching exploration of trauma, guilt, and the grotesque profoundly influenced generations of artists. Baselitz's career-long defiance of conventions and his insistence on making difficult, uncompromising art underscore his legacy as a pivotal force in contemporary visual art. The exhibition at the Cini Foundation serves as a poignant coda to a career defined by disruption and artistic integrity.