Georg Baselitz is without a doubt one of the most important contemporary German artists. Particularly his upside-down motifs have made his work unmistakable since he first started standing them on their head in 1969.

However, Baselitz cannot be solely reduced down to the level of this recognition value. This exhibition catalogue demonstrates in over 100 illustrations of central key works from all phases of his artistic career how multifaceted his work developed over the past 40 years.

Aside from the versatility of his motifs, it becomes clear in the process that Baselitz’s oeuvre is characterized by great craftsmanship and a compactness of expression.

Starting with his early works from the 1960s reflecting upon the post-war period past the fracture pictures and the turning of the motif upside-down up to and including his dealings with his own early works in the Remix group, the book traces the development of one of the most fascinating oeuvre of our time based on paintings and sculptures, providing a lively lesson about these genres.

Published on the occasion of the exhibition Georg Baselitz: 1960 – 2008. A Retrospective at Museum der Moderne Salzburg, February – June 2009.

English and German text.