Georg Baselitz, born Hans-Georg Kern in 1938 in Saxony, grew up in an educational environment, as his family lived in the school where his father was a teacher. From a young age, Baselitz spent much of his time in the school's library, where he developed a passion for art, admiring drawing albums. By age 15, he was already painting portraits, religious scenes, still lifes, and landscapes. In 1956, he was admitted to the Academy of Fine and Applied Arts in East Berlin but was expelled after a few months for sociopolitical misconduct. He then joined the Academy of Fine Arts in West Berlin, Charlottenburg.

During this period, Baselitz discovered the theories of Wassily Kandinsky and Kazimir Malevich, the American painting of Pollock and De Kooning, and the art of Chaïm Soutine and Marcel Duchamp. These influences pushed him to pursue his artistic development independently. He eventually left the Fine Arts Academy. His first solo exhibition at the Werner & Katz Gallery in Berlin in 1963 caused a scandal. Two of his works were seized by the authorities, resulting in a trial for public indecency. His works, often featuring war imagery, dismembered figures with torn clothing, severed limbs, and scenes of masturbation, were represented in a deliberately crude manner. In 1965, Baselitz received a grant that allowed him to spend six months in Florence, where he refined his skills and created his "animal parts" series. Upon returning, he shifted to large-format paintings, marked by fragmented and disjointed compositions.

Through his art, Baselitz deconstructed material forms to create new life, distorting shapes and volumes, fragmenting his compositions through the use of color and texture. His work renewed German expressionism, providing a reinterpretation of German identity, often linked to primitivism and neo-expressionism. His work can be viewed as a direct representation of a nation torn apart by war. Despite his eccentricity, Baselitz's work gained recognition over time. The Kunsthalle Mannheim exhibited his paintings and drawings in 1972, and he participated in documenta 5 in Kassel. His silkscreens were sold by the Heiner Friedrich gallery, and he exhibited at the São Paulo Biennale in 1975. In 1980, he participated in the Venice Biennale and was featured in the Royal Academy's "A New Spirit in Painting" exhibition, solidifying his reputation as a leading figure in German painting and neo-expressionism.

In 1995, he exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, and in 2007, the Royal Academy in London held a major retrospective of his work. In 2013-2014, the Musée d'Art Moderne in Paris presented his sculptures, and in 2018, the Beyeler Foundation celebrated his 80th birthday with a comprehensive exhibition covering all periods and aspects of his career, cementing Baselitz as one of the most eccentric artists of the 20th century.

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