German expressionist artist Joerg Immendorf
dies Monday 28 May 2007 14:04German expressionist artist Joerg Immendorff died on Monday after a long illness, his wife said.One of Germany's foremost modern artists, the 61-year-old had been suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a disease which attacks and destroys nerve cells in the brain.

He died in the early hours of Monday at his home in Dusseldorf, his wife, Oda Jaune-Immendorff, said.

A charismatic figure, Immendorff was known for his flamboyant lifestyle as well as oil his paintings, prints and sculptures that mixed surrealism with an element of satire.

In August 2004, he was fined and given an 11-month suspended prison sentence after pleading guilty to offences relating to a widely publicized "cocaine orgy" at a Dusseldorf hotel.

The terminally ill artist testified that he only wanted to "go out with a fling" when he hired a hotel suite and invited several prostitutes to a party where alcohol and drugs were available in large quantities.

Immendorff became afflicted with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, in 1998, and set up a foundation in his own name to finance medical research into the condition.

ALS leads to increasingly serious stages of paralysis and then to death when the person's respiratory system becomes paralysed.

Born on June 14 in the north German town of Bleckede, he first gained attention in the 1970s with a series of works called "Cafe Deutschland" dealing with the division of Germany.

One of his most publicized works was an official portrait commissioned by Gerhard Schroeder in which the former chancellor appears in a gilded head and clothes.

A professor at the Dusseldorf Academy of Art, Immendorf's last major exhibition was held at Berlin's New National Gallery when he was confined to a wheelchair. dpa ms sc