The Property
A PRIVATE COLLECTOR
GERHARD RICHTER (b. 1932)
Details
GERHARD RICHTER (b. 1932)
Stadtbild SL3
signed, titled and dated STADTBILD SL3 Richter 69 on the reverse--oil on canvas--unframed
48 3/4 x 48 3/4in. (124 x 124cm.)
Stadtbild SL3
signed, titled and dated STADTBILD SL3 Richter 69 on the reverse--oil on canvas--unframed
48 3/4 x 48 3/4in. (124 x 124cm.)
Provenance
Galerie Friedrich & Dahlem, Munich
Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York
Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York
Literature
D. Honisch, Gerhard Richter, Venice and Essen 1972, p. 41, no.218/1 (illustrated as no. 219/1).
Using images culled from newspapers, Gerhard Richter first began making paintings from photo-derived sources in 1962. He was interested in the emotionless objectivity of a photograph and transformed these images into paintings with blurry, smooth surfaces. In 1969, he momentarily moved away from this technique and used aerial views of mountain ranges and townsites which he painted with thick, loosely assembled strokes to create a flattened, telescopic view. The effect is optical, forcing the viewer to stand with relative distance to allow the image to come into focus.
In a catalogue essay for Richter's recent exhibition at the Tate Gallery, Stefan Germer comments on the townscapes: "Combining painterly intervention with its restriction within the limitations imposed by the source material, the Townscapes present a more profound challenge to the beholder than the Photo Paintings. For the beholder must here perform a twofold task: standing at a distance from these Townscapes permits the Gestalt of the depicted Townscapes to come into focus, while moving closer to the canvases brings about the destruction of these forms and a concomitant directing of attention to the painter's brushwork. In presenting the beholder with such contradictory experiences, the Townscapes emphasize the distinction between perceiving an object and seeing a painting....In their somatic form of address, Richter's pictures can be compared with strategies employed at about the same time by Minimalist artists. This is because he insists upon the beholders' active participation while simultaneously never allowing them to arrive at a conclusive and unambiguous interpretation, thereby preventing his work from being reified and invested with an aura." (Stefan Germer, Gerhard Richter, London 1991, p. 27)
Using images culled from newspapers, Gerhard Richter first began making paintings from photo-derived sources in 1962. He was interested in the emotionless objectivity of a photograph and transformed these images into paintings with blurry, smooth surfaces. In 1969, he momentarily moved away from this technique and used aerial views of mountain ranges and townsites which he painted with thick, loosely assembled strokes to create a flattened, telescopic view. The effect is optical, forcing the viewer to stand with relative distance to allow the image to come into focus.
In a catalogue essay for Richter's recent exhibition at the Tate Gallery, Stefan Germer comments on the townscapes: "Combining painterly intervention with its restriction within the limitations imposed by the source material, the Townscapes present a more profound challenge to the beholder than the Photo Paintings. For the beholder must here perform a twofold task: standing at a distance from these Townscapes permits the Gestalt of the depicted Townscapes to come into focus, while moving closer to the canvases brings about the destruction of these forms and a concomitant directing of attention to the painter's brushwork. In presenting the beholder with such contradictory experiences, the Townscapes emphasize the distinction between perceiving an object and seeing a painting....In their somatic form of address, Richter's pictures can be compared with strategies employed at about the same time by Minimalist artists. This is because he insists upon the beholders' active participation while simultaneously never allowing them to arrive at a conclusive and unambiguous interpretation, thereby preventing his work from being reified and invested with an aura." (Stefan Germer, Gerhard Richter, London 1991, p. 27)
Exhibited
Kunstmuseum Luzern, Düsseldorfer Szene, 1969
Munich, Galerie Friedrich Gerhard Richter, 1970
Venice, Bienale, 1972, no. 66
Kunstmuseum Luzern, 1972
Düsseldorf, Stadische Kunsthalle; Nationalgalerie Berlin; Kunsthalle Bern, and Vienna, Museum Moderner Kunst/Museum des 20 Jahrhunderts, Gerhard Richter Bilder Paintings 1962-1985, Jan.-Sept. 1986, p. 95, no. 218/1
Munich, Galerie Friedrich Gerhard Richter, 1970
Venice, Bienale, 1972, no. 66
Kunstmuseum Luzern, 1972
Düsseldorf, Stadische Kunsthalle; Nationalgalerie Berlin; Kunsthalle Bern, and Vienna, Museum Moderner Kunst/Museum des 20 Jahrhunderts, Gerhard Richter Bilder Paintings 1962-1985, Jan.-Sept. 1986, p. 95, no. 218/1