Georg Baselitz , the German painter and sculptor renowned for his provocative, inverted canvases and raw depictions of the human form, has died at the age of 88. The artist , who famously insisted he had "no talent" and did not know how to paint, forged a career that positioned him as one of the defining figures of postwar German art . His death was confirmed by the Thaddaeus Ropac art gallery, which had represented Baselitz for over two decades, stating he died peacefully. No cause of death was given. Born Hans-Georg Bruno Kern in Deutschbaselitz in 1938, the artist later adopted his village's name. His formative years were marked by the stark realities of Nazi Germany and the subsequent ideological re-education under Soviet communism . Rejected by the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts at 17, he gained entry to an East Berlin academy only to be expelled two semesters later for "sociopolitical immaturity." Reflecting on this period, Baselitz recalled: "I was stupid.…