Baselitz exhibition to open at Museo Novecento in Florence

A new exhibition titled “Baselitz. Avanti!” opens at Museo Novecento in Florence on 25 March 2026 and run until 13 September 2026. The show is curated by Sergio Risaliti, director of the museum, and organised in collaboration with the artist’s studio. 

The exhibition marks the first large-scale project in Italy to focus specifically on Baselitz’s graphic production, an area that has often received less attention compared to his painting and sculpture. Around 150 works will be displayed, including prints, paintings and sculptures, offering an overview of the artist’s career from the 1960s to recent years. 

A return to Florence

According to the organisers, the exhibition represents a significant return for Baselitz to Florence, a city with which he has maintained a long-standing connection since the 1960s. During that period, the artist came into contact with Renaissance printmaking traditions, which influenced the development of his graphic practice.

The exhibition is set across all three floors of Museo Novecento, located in Piazza Santa Maria Novella, and is conceived as a monographic show dedicated entirely to Baselitz. The display aims to highlight the central role of printmaking techniques such as woodcut, etching and linocut in his work.

Exploring six decades of work

The exhibition traces Baselitz’s artistic evolution over more than sixty years. His work is characterised by a continuous tension between construction and destruction, and by a questioning of traditional ways of representing the human figure.

One of the key elements addressed in the exhibition is his practice of depicting subjects upside down, a method introduced in the late 1960s. This approach shifts attention away from narrative content and towards form, colour and composition, encouraging viewers to reconsider how images are perceived.

The show also includes sculptures and large-scale installations, as well as more recent works, some of which have been produced in 2025 and are being presented for the first time.

Focus on graphic production

A central aim of the exhibition is to reposition graphic work as a core component of Baselitz’s artistic research rather than a secondary medium. Since the early 1960s, printmaking has been a field of experimentation for the artist, allowing him to deconstruct and reassemble images through complex and often physically demanding processes.

The exhibition also highlights recurring themes in his work, including fragmented human figures, references to German history and identity, and autobiographical elements.

(Installation View BASELITZ. AVANTI! 2026, Courtesy Museo Novecento and the artist. Ph Elisa Norcini)

Practical information

• Dates: 25 March – 13 September 2026
• Location: Museo Novecento, Piazza Santa Maria Novella 10, Florence
• Opening hours: 11 a.m. – 8 p.m., closed on Thursdays
• Last entry: one hour before closing

More information is available on the museum’s official website.

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