Martin Kippenberger is widely regarded as one of the most talented German artists of his generation. Although he was incredibly prolific in a diverse range of media—drawings, collage, sculpture, performance, painting, photography, installations, prints, ephemera.—his best-known works are paintings, many of them self-portraits. Kippenberger was a very polarizing figure, known by many for being a provocateur and for making politically charged work as artworld commentary. Often taking on different art historical tropes, his work tested the boundaries of authorship and originality. He was known to hire others to paint for him under a pseudonym, or use work by other artists to create new work. Examples include restaging a photograph of Pablo Picasso; turning a monochrome by Gerard Richter into a coffee table; and claiming an installation of his as the last chapter of an unfinished novel by Franz Kafka. One of his key concerns was to try to understand the artist’s place in the modern world, and how their essence and personality can become apparent in the objects that they create.