The World on its Head: A Tribute to Georg Baselitz (1938-2026)

In this bonus episode of The Bigger Picture, Dr Peter Tuka explores Portrait of Elke I (1969) by German artist Georg Baselitz — one of his first upside-down (inverted) paintings that helped redefine figurative painting in post-war German art. Through a close visual analysis, we unpack Baselitz’s radical inversion technique, his idea of creating visual irritation, and howhis work sits between abstraction and representation, often linked to Neo-Expressionism and contemporary art history. The episode also traces Baselitz’s life between East and West Germany and the “destroyed order” that shaped his aggressive brushwork, before turning to the intimate story of ElkeKretzschmar, his wife and lifelong muse. If you’re searching for an art history podcast on Georg Baselitz, inverted paintings, German Neo-Expressionism, or the meaning behind Portrait of Elke I, this episode is for you.Georg Baselitz, Portrait of Elke I, 1969, synthetic resin emulsion paints on canvas, 162x130cm, The Metropolitan Museum, New YorkGeorg Baselitz, The Wood on its Head, 1969, oil on canvas, Museum Ludwig, Cologne, GermanyLouis-Ferdinand von Rayski, Wermsdorf Forest, c.1859, oil on canvas, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Germany