Georg Baselitz and the Heroic Final Chapter: A Critical Look at Eroi d’Oro
Art criticism has long sought to capture the twilight phases of great masters, examining how legendary creators bring their life’s work to a close. In a review originally featured in Die Welt, critic Cornelius Tittel examines the uncompromising late series by Georg Baselitz, highlighting an exhibition titled “Eroi d’Oro” in Venice that captures an artist confronting art history with absolute fearlessness.
Reviewing the Late Work of Georg Baselitz
The trajectory of Baselitz's late career reflects a deep engagement with the final periods of historical peers. Having studied the blind spots of Edvard Munch, the loss of control in Otto Dix’s output, and the scraped canvases of Mark Rothko, Baselitz consciously established his 2015 Biennale presentation as the launching pad for his final chapter. At the time, he expressed a desire to test which hurdles he could still clear and which creative bridges he could cross.
While the joyful experimentation of earlier decades has evolved, the sheer intensity of his imagery remains undiminished. Physical realities have reshaped his process: working from a wheelchair and leaning directly over canvases laid upon the floor, painting has transformed into an unyielding battle against fading strength. As Tittel notes, the tyre tracks of his wheelchair have paradoxically become integrated into the final compositions, exposing the raw conditions of production in a manner reminiscent of Jackson Pollock's elliptical drippings.
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