A London exhibition of Georg Baselitz’s Heroes paintings revisits the artist’s forceful engagement with German history. The works, begun in 1965, form the focus of a Guardian review that emphasises their emotional intensity.
Baselitz’s early life crossed wartime Germany, the communist east and a later move west. The review connects those experiences with images shaped by damaged ideals and historical memory, while describing the paintings as far removed from a straightforward celebration of heroic figures.
The critic’s response is strongly admiring, but remains an interpretation of the art. The exhibition gives viewers an opportunity to examine the series together and consider how postwar painting can confront inherited stories, rather than treating the title as a promise of uncomplicated national pride.
