13th June 2007
The neo-expressionist artist, Jorg Immendorff has died of the wasting disease 'amyotrophic lateral sclerosis'. He was celebrated as one of the more controversial neo-expressionist painters.
His work had a streak of serious politics in every piece he created. His life had much controversy too. In 2003 he was arrested at the Steigenberger hotel in Dusseldorf for possession of a reasonable quantity of Cocaine. At the time of his arrest he was in the company of seven young prostitutes.
Once arrested, he also admitted to having organised 30 other similar style orgies. He was given 11 months probation and was fined 150,000 euros.
His final commission was to paint a portrait of his friend and former leader of Germany, 'Gerhard Schroder'. The commission was to mark the leader's retirement. Jorg Immendorff felt that Schroder was the only chancellor to really value artists and their place in society. The commission was therefore painted in gold.
Jorg Immendorff, born June 14 1945. Died May 28th 2007
