The Facts
On October 7, 2026, Thaddaeus Ropac announced the first UK exhibition devoted exclusively to Georg Baselitz's Heroes series, which the artist created in 1965–66 at age 27. The show brings together key works from this formative period, including around 60 paintings, 130 drawings, and 38 prints featuring monumental, battered figures in ravaged landscapes. Baselitz began the series in summer 1965 after a residency at Villa Romana in Florence, where he was influenced by 16th-century Mannerists such as Pontormo and Parmigianino. The figures—depicted as partisans, rebels, painters, shepherds, and poets—reflect the artist's experience of leaving East Germany for West Berlin amid post-war tensions.
The Signal
The exhibition offers collectors and curators a rare opportunity to see the Heroes series in depth outside of Germany, underscoring Baselitz's pivotal role in post-war European painting. The series marks a critical moment when Baselitz developed his signature fractured figuration, rejecting both East German socialist realism and West German abstraction. For the market, this focused presentation may reinforce demand for early Baselitz works, which have seen strong auction results in recent years, as the gallery positions the artist's formative output within a broader institutional narrative.
- Artists: Georg Baselitz
- People: Annie Downes
- Galleries: Thaddaeus Ropac
- Locations: London
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