Georg Baselitz was born Georg Kern, in Deutschbaselitz, Germany, on 23 January 1938. In 1956 he studied painting at the East Berlin Academy of Fine and Applied Arts, and it was at this time that he adopted the name Baselitz. Expelled for 'socio-political immaturity', he made his way to West Berlin where he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts from 1957 until 1964. He launched his career in Berlin with an aggressive exhibition and manifesto, 'First Pandämonium', in 1961 with Eugen Schönebeck, and 'Second Pandämonium' in 1962. In 1963 he had a solo exhibition at Galerie Werner und Katz, Berlin, and in 1965 won a scholarship to study at the Villa Romana in Florence. He was given a solo exhibition at the Kunsthalle, Berne, in 1976 and at the Stedelijk van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, in 1979. In 1977 he became professor at the Karlsruhe Academy of fine Arts, and in 1983 began teaching at the Art College in West Berlin. In 1980 he represented Germany (with Anselm Kiefer) at the Venice Biennale, and was included in the exhibition 'A New Spirit of Painting' at the Royal Academy of Art in London. Since 1980 he has widened the scope of his activities to include sculpture as well as painting and graphics. Numerous exhibitions of his work have been held in Europe and the United States, including representation in 'Expressions: New Art from Germany', organised by the St Louis Art Museum, St Louis, which toured the United States in 1983. In 1989 the French government awarded him the title of Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. A retrospective of his work was held at the Centre Cultural de la Fundació Caixa de Pensions, Barcelona, in 1990. Baselitz lives and works in Derneburg, near Hildesheim, Saxony, in north-west Germany.