GEORG BASELITZ (1938–2026) WORKS IN THE BAYERISCHEN STAATSGEMÄLDESAMMLUNGEN (BAVARIAN STATE PAINTING COLLECTIONS) | ROOM 28 - NEW PRESENTATION

The first Baselitz acquisition occurred as early as 1972. Just four years later, the “Staatsgalerie moderner Kunst”, as it was then known, devoted a solo exhibition to the then 38-year-old artist. Held at the Haus der Kunst, the show marked a turning point for the museum by shifting the focus to contemporary artistic practice and an acquisitions policy geared towards living artists. The patronage of Herzog Franz von Bayern – Baselitz’s earliest collector and long-standing friend – made possible not only that first exhibition but also the acquisition of several major works by Baselitz for the Munich collection. Of particular note was “Mann am Baum” (“Man by a Tree”,1969), one of the first canvases to feature an upside-down figure. This pictorial inversion became the hallmark of Baselitz’s art while also serving as a critical reflection on recent German history.

Another milestone in the history of the Munich collection came in 2019 with the donation, in honour of Herzog Franz von Bayern of six Baselitz paintings and one of his sculptures, all produced in the last ten years. As standout pieces from the artist’s impressive late period, the donation included the painting “Avignon ade”, in which the figure appears to float in a timeless and boundless space, and the sculpture “Zero Ende”, which stands as a haunting symbol of transience.

The Sammlung Moderne Kunst has continuously expanded these holdings since the 1970s, with successive generations of curators and directors keenly tracing Baselitz’s artistic development over the decades. Major works by the artist have found their way into the collection thanks to the generous support of the Wittelsbacher Ausgleichsfonds, PIN. Freunde der Pinakothek der Moderne e.V., the Theo Wormland Foundation, the Michael & Eleonore Stoffel Foundation, and Georg Baselitz himself. 

Since 2009, nine works by Baselitz from the Udo and Anette Brandhorst Collection have also enriched the Munich collection. The couple shared a deep friendship with the artist. The works at the Museum Brandhorst span a range from early pieces such as “Birch” (1970) to the most recent acquisition in 2023, “Manopola – Fist Glove” (2019). Carla Schulz-Hoffmann, curator of modern art at the Pinakothek der Moderne and deputy director-general until 2011, was instrumental in building up the Baselitz collection for more than 30 years. It was she who took the bold step of making Baselitz the subject of that first solo exhibition in the mid-1970s. Today, she has returned as co-curator of the current presentation in his memory.

The selection illustrates just how intensively Baselitz explored his chosen medium by turning the tradition of oil painting itself on its head: he experimented with colour, fragmented the figure, dispensed with brushes to apply paint with his bare hands, appropriated well-known motifs from art history, and, lastly, revisited his own stock of motifs in the “Remix” series. Always questioning accepted precepts, he brought repressed subjects, both personal and societal, to light. After seven decades of artistic production, Georg Baselitz’s work remains provocative, powerful, and uncompromising.

At the Museum Brandhorst, in conjunction with the new Baselitz presentation at the Pinakothek der Moderne, an impressive work in memory of Georg Baselitz is on display in the stairwell: “Manopola – Fausthandschuh” (2019). 

Curated by Verena Hein and Carla Schulz-Hoffmann,
assisted by Lilith Bitzer