Georg Baselitz

In his sceptical basic attitude towards post-war Germany Baselitz (* 1938) emphasised in his works the ambivalent aspects of the present in which he lived. His “Heroes” appear correspondingly contradictory with their military fatigues in tatters, their failure as deeply engraved as their resignation. The contrast to the success story of Western Germany’s economic miracle could hardly be more sharply defined, but there is more at stake: with this group of works the artist reflected his own position in relation to society. It was the artist’s self-assertion and determination of identity that were at stake and that Baselitz formulated so forcefully.