The exhibition Georg Baselitz. Eroi d’Oro, curated by Luca Massimo Barbero, director of the Institute of Art History at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini, presents the German artist’s latest series of large-scale paintings. The works feature flat golden backgrounds that provide no sense of spatial depth. This two-dimensional quality echoes the style of medieval icons and the gilded surfaces often used by the Northern Renaissance painter Stefan Lochner. Baselitz’s figures, outlined in sharp, linear strokes reminiscent of drawing, appear to float on these golden planes. The paintings include oversized self-portraits as well as many images of his wife Elke, who has long served as his companion and frequent model. The portraits are rendered with diluted black paint that evokes ink, recalling the style of Hokusai’s portraits and traditional Japanese calligraphy. In several canvases, thick, textured brushstrokes in multiple colours are applied over the figures, creating a marbled, varied surface effect.Although gold has appeared in various forms throughout Baselitz’s career, these paintings show a closer visual connection to the tradition of icon painting than his previous work.

Georg Baselitz: Eroi d’Oro / Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venezia. May 5, 2026.