Georg Baselitz review – a final, furious, chaotic reckoning with death

German artist Georg Baselitz died on April 30, 2026, at the age of 88, leaving behind a final collection of paintings and drawings that serve as a profound reckoning with mortality. The exhibition at White Cube Bermondsey in London showcases works dominated by themes of falling bodies, flailing figures, and depictions of sagging skin and brittle limbs, all rendered with a brutal yet beautiful intensity. These pieces are widely interpreted as a direct confrontation with his own impending death, reflecting a desperate and chaotic attempt to process the meaning of his life and its imminent end. Baselitz was recognized as one of the most influential painters of his generation, and this last body of work offers a stark and powerful visual testament to his lifelong engagement with life's ultimate conclusion. The collection's raw emotionality and visceral imagery underscore the artist's final, furious dialogue with the finite nature of existence.