Armin Zweite Gerhard Richter Gerhard Richter in His Studio, 1995

armin zweite gerhard richter Gerhard Richter in his studio, 1995. Photograph: Sabine Moritz armin zweite gerhard richter life and wo rk

in painting, thinking is painting

PRESTEL Munich • London • New York acknowledgments

If I may apply a famous saying by physiologist Emil Du exhibition at the Lenbachhaus. It was the start of a Bois-Reymond (ignoramus et ignorabimus, meaning “we cooperation on various projects that has spanned more don’t know and we will not know”) to art, it seems than forty years. It is thus not just for this publication that, when it comes to the meaning of Gerhard that I am tremendously indebted to Lothar Schirmer. Richter’s paintings, with their great complexity of sub- And this is equally true for his long-time editor Birgit jects, exceptionally varied use of form, and abrupt sty- Mayer, who expertly and responsibly eliminated all fac- listic twists and ruptures, most people are quick to tual inaccuracies and repetitions, as well as linguistic settle for a sense of ignorabimus. A cursory reflection on shortcomings. And, last but not least, Regina Kaiser was the now complex explanations and interpretations of extremely helpful in solving countless technical prob- his work particularly conveys this in terms of tran- lems, going above and beyond to create an impressive scending the aesthetic phenomena of Richter’s oeuvre overall package of images and words. I therefore feel to determine the specific importance of his works just as indebted to Angela Motlik-Ernst, who consis- within the context of contemporary culture. This was a tently facilitated fast, smooth communications. I also major problem I viewed with caution when, many want to mention all the other publishing staff involved months ago, publisher Lothar Schirmer approached me in this book, even if their involvement was mostly on a and asked if I would write a book on Gerhard Richter. sporadic basis. The fact that I benefited immensely In other words, I had to select works within a limited from many authors who have similarly focused on framework and compose a suitably distilled text about Gerhard Richter’s works has been acknowledged else- them. It was almost an equal mix of temptation and where in this publication. There is no doubt, however, challenge. But once I had an initial, provisional draft, I that the greatest moral support, encouragement, and was in need of good advice, given that I had well patience, not to mention sacrifice, over the last few exceeded the specified limits regarding the number of months has come from Monika Steinhauser. And I illustrations and volume of text permitted. My fascina- would therefore like to dedicate this book to my wife, tion and enthusiasm had rendered these framework in deep gratitude. specifications null and void—or I had simply chosen to ignore them. After a period of sobriety and reflection, A Z however, the publisher decided not to call for rigorous editing, but rather to run the financial risk and complete the Düsseldorf Trilogy, if you will, with this book dedicated to Gerhard Richter, following on from my publications on Joseph Beuys (1991) and Bernd and Hilla Becher (2003). I must, of course, first thank Gerhard Richter himself for his great trust and support (our first collaboration was back in 1973). Soon after, a publication by Schirmer/Mosel Verlag accompanied an contents

introduction 7

1. the early years 15

2. “in painting, thinking is painting” an excursus 83

3. color charts 89

4. inpaintings and gray paintings 105

5. glass and mirrors 119

6. the atlas 143

7. installations 161

8. pictorial reflections on the status of the artist an excursus 207

9. landscapes 223

10. still lifes 275

11. portraits 291

12. october 18, 1977 327

13. abstract paintings 349

14. overpainted photographs, books and pictures, oil paint on photographs 411

concluding remarks 443

notes 447

selected bibliography 471 1 2 3

4 5 6

Fig. 1 Gerhard Richter while painting his self-portrait, 1951 Fig. 2 Gerhard Richter in his studio, 1967. Photograph: Manfred Leve Fig. 3 Gerhard Richter in his studio, 1967. Photograph: Erika Kiffl Fig. 4 Gerhard Richter in his studio, mid-1970s 7 Fig. 5 Gerhard Richter in his studio, 1984. Photograph: Benjamin Katz Fig. 6 Gerhard Richter in his studio, 1994. Photograph: Benjamin Katz Fig. 7 Gerhard Richter in his studio, 1995. Photograph: Sabine Moritz Fig. 8 Gerhard Richter with squeegee, 1994. Photograph: Benjamin Katz If, in 1986, Richter saw himself as the heir to a great, painterly, albeit long-lost tradition (a view he would continuously confirm over the following decades), the automatic response would be to ask how he would justify his work in a cultural setting marked by rapid changes and profound contradictions, and in the face of great political and social upheavals. The following statement, also from 1986, provides an initial idea: “The plausible theory, that my abstract paintings introduction evolve their motif as the work proceeds, is a timely one, because there no longer exists one central image of the world (world view): We must, therefore, work out everything for ourselves, abandoned as we are on a “I see myself as the heir to an enormous, great, rich refuse heap, without center, and without significance; culture of painting, and of an art in general, which we we must cope with the advance of a previously have lost, but which nevertheless is an obligation. In undreamt-of freedom . . . this theory is no less useless such a situation, it’s difficult not to want to restore that than ludicrous should I paint bad pictures.”3 culture, or—just as bad—simply to give up, to degen While Gerhard Richter was certainly able to take erate.”1 When Gerhard Richter said this in 1986, he was some pleasure in the diagnosis made in 1948 by Hans in his mid-fifties. He was able to look back on a slew of Sedlmayr in his iconic book Art in Crisis: The Lost Center, national and international successes that culminated in 1957 (Verlust der Mitte)—to which Richter’s expression the exhibition Gerhard Richter, Bilder 1962–1985 at the “lost center” refers—when studying the anti-modernity Städtische Kunsthalle in Düsseldorf at the time, given polemic during his youth, he decisively rejects the ther- that this retrospective later toured the National Gallery apeutic, archconservative conclusions drawn by the in Berlin and the Kunsthalle in Bern, before being former-Nazi art historian. In any case, the painter’s two shown at the Museum moderner Kunst / Museum des statements illustrate his dialectic way of thinking, as 20. Jahrhunderts in Vienna. From a purely external evidenced here in the polarity of a great cultural heri- perspective, there was no reason to give up, even tage on the one hand, and in the deficit caused by a though exhibition-goers could wonder whether and to comprehensive loss of meaning on the other. Both what extent Richter was perpetuating the “great, rich statements, repeated in similar form, demonstrate that culture of painting.” This conundrum seems to have Richter, like few other artists of the second half of the been on his mind when, in 1993–94, another retro twentieth century, reflects on the dilemma of his status spective of his work was presented in four different as a painter, and in so doing consistently articulates the countries: at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de leitmotifs of his work. Many of his self-characteriza- Paris, at the Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundes tions revolve around the contrast between tradition republik Deutschland in Bonn, at the Moderna Museet and innovation, belief and ideology, engagement and in Stockholm, and at the Museo Nacional Centro de neutrality, self-determination and fatalism, emphasis Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid. and control. Equally, comparable contradictions define The series of sweeping reflections would be contin- the vivid nature of his works. Objective subjects com- ued several years later with Gerhard Richter: Forty Years pete with abstractions. Gray imagery contrasts with of Painting. The project organized by Robert Storr in rich colorism. Overt gestures face up to strict formal- 2002 to mark the artist’s seventieth birthday, mean- ism. Controlled coincidence is followed by a sense of while, once more reminded viewers of the polysemous regularity. Dynamic structures replace closed surfaces. richness of Richter’s works, to such an extent that it, in Transparency supersedes opacity. The banal contra- fact, became nothing less than a victory parade stop- dicts the beautiful, and indifference counteracts emo- ping at museums in New York (Museum of Modern tion. The singular work prevails over the series. Art), Chicago (Art Institute), San Francisco (Museum of His work is defined just as much by the fluctuation Modern Art), and Washington (Hirshhorn Museum between opposites: traditional and avant-garde atti- and Sculpture Garden). When asked at the time how tudes, between impersonal processes and subjective he wanted to be seen, the painter responded almost motivation, between construction and destruction, as it self-deprecatingly: “Perhaps as a guardian of tradition. is by the contrast between narration and speechless- I’d prefer that to any other misconceptions.”2 The US ness. Suggestion and diminishing comprehensibility tribute was followed by a European homage ten years may be seen as leitmotifs that pervade the work and later to celebrate the artist’s eightieth birthday. It was create a discourse that repeatedly unleashes a “reflex- entitled Gerhard Richter. Panorama, and did the rounds ive potentiation of deceptive beauty” (Klaus Krüger). It of the Tate Modern in London, the Neue is not reality he seeks to put on canvas, but rather “the Nationalgalerie in Berlin, and the Centre Pompidou in deceptive semblance of reality,” Richter says in 2002.4 Paris. This project, too, showcased the vast diversity of During his first few years in Düsseldorf and a period painterly idioms and the complementarity inherent in of reorientation, Richter evidently came to see his own Richter’s works. Once again the works elicited a great relationship with his work as ambivalent, just as his response, some of which was enthusiastic and lasting. If work, in turn, owes meaning and truth not just to him, one were to recapitulate the numerous other world- but also to the audience. At the time, this was primarily wide exhibitions large and small that focused on spe- his artist friends—who did not hold back with their cific themes, genres, techniques, or time periods—many comments—and later also gallery owners, critics, and of them backed by research and conveying new collectors. The objectification achieved by such cri- insights—it can be stated that no other German artist in tique, be it negative, positive, dismissive, or encourag- the second half of the twentieth century achieved an ing, may play a pivotal role in defining and developing international status comparable to that of Gerhard one’s own artistic conception. Richter experienced this Richter. In saying as much, we must be aware that exhi- with his coworkers and friends from the 1960s and bitions constitute just one of many aspects on which an 1970s in varying degrees of intensity and duration artist’s reputation is based. when, during conversations, debates, and joint

7 chapter 3

42 1,024 Colors, 1973 [1024 Farben] Lacquer on canvas CR 351, 299 x 299 cm Kunstmuseum Krefeld 102 col0r charts

43 4,900 Colors, 2007 [4900 Farben] Lacquer on Alu-Dibond CR 901/Version XI, 680 x 680 cm Collection Fondation Louis Vuitton pour la Création, Paris 103 44 Color Streaks, 1968 [Farbschlieren] Oil on canvas CR 192/2, 200 x 200 cm Private collection

104 are almost absorbed by the canvas. The overall impression conveyed is that Richter tried out all conceivable options, going from one extreme to the other. Of note here is the bold move—bordering on desperate—to initially apply the colors to the medium in an isolated fashion, and only then begin to mix them, with broader or narrower brushstrokes that dance across the image in rhythmic sweeps and violent darts until a uniform 4. inpainting and all-over has been achieved. The originally pure colors gray paintings become fractured, heavily nuanced shades, and, in exceptional cases, even generate an unspecified com- plexion that adds a sense of indecision and intangibility Between 1966 and 1973–74, Richter painted rural and to the resulting tableaus. Anything specific, concrete, urban landscapes, seascapes, clouds, and portraits. He or defined is swallowed up by the atmospheric. Richter also produced several large-format works aimed at har- described this painting process so vividly, it is best read monizing the illusion of the depiction with the illusion in his own words: “It took me a little time to remember of the depicted, running the risk of creating a tautology that I have tools with which I can make anything: Red— of perception and concept.1 This is true for his paint- Blue—Yellow (and light = white). Pictures as the result ings of curtains (pl. 33), details (fig. 132), and shad- of process. Three primary colors, as the source of endow-casting windows (pl. 32) and doors (CR 158, 159, less sequences of tones: either tone by tone, systemati- 210/1, 3, 4), as well as three-dimensional offerings such cally multiplied and accurately presented (color charts) as Seven Tubes (fig. 61). In 1971, Richter noted: “Perhaps or this artificial jungle. The shades and forms emerge the Doors, Curtains, Surface Pictures, Panes of Glass, through the constant blending of brushstrokes; they etc. are metaphors of despair, prompted by the create an illusionistic space, without any need for me dilemma that our sense of sight causes us to appre- to invent forms or signs. The brush goes on its allotted hend things, but at the same time restricts and partly way, from patch to patch of paint, first mediating and precludes our apprehension of reality.”2 It is not reality then to a greater or lesser degree destroying, mixing, that grows alien and irrational to him through artistic until there is no place left intact. It is almost a soup, reproduction; his doubts instead center on perception a non-hierarchical interweaving of form with space itself, and therefore on the question of whether our and color. Pictures, which emerge, which result from eyes perhaps deliver images that potentially only pres- the making. Not creations; definitely not creative, ent illusions, which thus cannot convey an appropriate in the sense of that mendacious word (I mention idea of reality’s true quality. Among the subjects tack- this, because I so loathe the word) but creaturely. To led by Richter in this context are Gray Streaks (fig. 60) and Color Streaks (pl. 44). Created in 1968, the pictures effectively fill the gap between visual perception and visualized images, and the practice of self-referencing painting, their titles implying an ambivalent reality. A streak denotes a stripe-like fleck in glass and, more generally, describes a slippery, slimy splotch signifying something incomprehensible. Both meanings are vividly apparent in the pictures. Other examples from this era similarly illustrate that figurative and abstract paintings are not unrelated opposites, but rather that fluid or abrupt transitions Fig. 60 are sometimes also evident. The non-figurative inpaint- Gerhard Richter, ings appear to spring straight from works such as the “Grauschlieren” [Gray Streaks], 1968 large Park Piece (pl. 45), to the extent that some of Oil on canvas them (CR 312–319) are reminiscent of wild vegetation. CR 192/1, 200 x 200 cm This is particularly apt given that, by referencing the Gerhard Richter Archiv, natural colors of green and ocher, Richter himself plays Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden on such associations, and consequently talks of an Loan from private collection “artificial jungle,” whereby the “shades and forms emerge through the constant blending of brushstrokes; they create an illusionistic space, without any need for me to invent forms or signs.”3 This is made clear in Jungle Picture (pl. 46) and the works that immediately followed it (pl. 47). At a structural level, parallels can be drawn between Park Piece from 1971 and Red—Blue—Yellow (pl. 48), which was painted somewhat later. While the specific allusions to meadows, tree trunks, branches, shrubs, and foliage have vanished much like the sense of space and the contrasts between light and shadow, there still appears to be a definite link between facture and col- oring, though these are completely scaled back in horizontal format, and transformed into a modulated web Fig. 61 of colored material that neither sets a scene nor evokes Gerhard Richter, any figurative memories. It is as if the expressiveness of “Sieben Röhren” [Seven Tubes], 1965–68 Park Piece has been translated into the Informalism of CR 59/1–7, 168 x 11 and 7 cm Red—Blue—Yellow. Three-dimensional spatial elements Private collection

105 chapter 9

121 Bridge (at the Seaside), 1969 [Brücke (am Meer)] Oil on canvas CR 202, 93 x 98 cm Neues Museum, Staatliches Museum für Kunst und Design Nürnberg Loan from Collection Böckmann, Berlin 242 landscapes

122 Seascape (Sea-Sea), 1970 [Seestück (See-See)] Oil on canvas CR 244, 200 x 200 cm Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin 243 chapter 9

123 Seascape (Cloudy), 1969 [Seestück (bewölkt)] Oil on canvas CR 235, 200 x 200 cm Staatsgalerie Stuttgart 244 landscapes

124 Teide Landscape, 1971 [Teyde-Landschaft] Oil on canvas CR 283, 120 x 180 cm Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen 245 chapter 11

165 Portrait Liz Kertelge, 1966 [Portrait Liz Kertelge] Oil on canvas CR 108, 65 x 70 cm Private collection, Berlin 308 portraits

166 Betty, 1977 [Betty] Oil on canvas CR 425/4, 30 x 40 cm Private collection, Cologne 309

portraits

167 Betty, 1988 [Betty] Oil on canvas CR 663/5, 102 x 72 cm The Saint Louis Art Museum 311 chapter 13

223 Cage (5), 2006 [Cage (5)] Oil on canvas CR 897/5, 300 x 300 cm Tate Gallery, London 404 abstract paintings

224 Cage (6), 2006 [Cage (6)] Oil on canvas CR 897/6, 300 x 300 cm Tate Gallery, London 405 chapter 13

225 Birkenau, 2014 [Birkenau] Oil on canvas CR 937/1, 260 x 200 cm Gerhard Richter Archiv, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden Loan from private collection

226 Birkenau, 2014 [Birkenau] Oil on canvas CR 937/2, 260 x 200 cm Gerhard Richter Archiv, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden Loan from private collection 406 abstract paintings

227 Birkenau, 2014 [Birkenau] Oil on canvas CR 937/3, 260 x 200 cm Gerhard Richter Archiv, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden Loan from private collection

228 Birkenau, 2014 [Birkenau] Oil on canvas CR 937/4, 260 x 200 cm Gerhard Richter Archiv, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden Loan from private collection 407 chapter 13

229 Abstract Painting, 2016 [Abstraktes Bild] Oil on canvas CR 946/1, 200 x 250 cm, Private collection 408 abstract paintings

230 Abstract Painting, 2016 [Abstraktes Bild] Oil on canvas CR 946/2, 200 x 250 cm Private collection 409 231 3/25/1986 [25.3.86], 1986 Oil on photograph CR 25.03.1986, 99.4 x 77.8 cm Barbara G. Pine, New York

410 photograph that forms its base, whether consciously or unconsciously, paraphrasing, counteracting, supple- menting, annotating, covering, extinguishing, and anni- hilating it. Therefore, success and failure are never far apart. Particularly revealing are the works from the late 1980s onward (pls. 232ff). These amateur photographs, mostly measuring 10 x 15 cm or 12 x 12 cm, capture 14. overpainted photographs, more or less interesting views taken by Richter on trips books, and pictures, oil paint or during walks, and include many snapshots of friends, on photographs his children, and his wife. At times, editions or books have emerged from this heterogeneous material, with landscapes being of greater importance. A black-and-white photograph overpainted with oils A series of color photographs from February of 1992 and measuring 99 x 78 cm is dated March 25, 1986 was covered with black and white enamel paint in such (pl. 231). This work represents the spectacular incep- dynamic strokes that phantasmagorias seemed to tion of an art form that would preoccupy Richter sweep across real urban spaces or southern climes, or repeatedly in the ensuing years. Strikingly noticeable at intrude into well-ordered interiors, seizing them. The the center of the image alongside broad, irregular impasto paint material renders much invisible while patches and horizontal strips in olive green, yellow, and emerging conspicuously into the foreground, dominat- reddish tones is a blue, wobbly brushstroke that divides ing pictorial goings-on (pl. 232). In other works in this the now bark-like, now flat layers of opaque paint medium, this discrepancy, while not eliminated, is miti- material like a vertical axis, so that very few details of gated insofar as structural or thematic associations cre- the photograph—which serves as the vehicle of sorts ate a bridge between oil paint and photograph. A work for a painterly invention—remain recognizable. What is dated August 14, August 1994, (pl. 233) illustrates this. visible suggests an interior, evidently Richter’s studio, Reproduced is a spacious landscape with elements of containing rolling furniture and an office chair, on park architecture. The blue lines that meander into the whose back rest hangs a sports jacket. Parts of a pull- photograph from above and below and the small over can also be seen. In the upper area underneath patches of oil paint distantly recall bare branches or the mélange of colors there is a vertical rectangle rain, allowing a conceptual link to arise through analo- whose proportions correspond to those of the photo- gous forms. Something similar is observable in an over- graph. There are sufficient clues to indicate that in the painted photograph of mountains from 1988,4 where photograph, the painter sits very close to one of his bark-like streaks of color resemble stone formations. works, perhaps in order to correct or supplement Richter repeatedly allows himself to be surprised by some detail. Subsequently, Richter began applying oils happenstances, and tries to coax them in a specific directly to photographs, as if working with the mono- direction in order to generate a bridge between the type technique, placing the photographs on a squeegee representational, the illustrative, the immaterial, the covered in paint residue. In other instances, he spreads flat, and the abstract, the non-descriptive, the immate- the paint with a palette knife in a horizontal or vertical rial, and the sublime. direction.1 Chance and control are held in a balance, with the color tones either retaining their purity or Manifested in individual pictures, series, or books are being smeared with others to form streaky conglomer- various contrasts and contradictions. This is not about ates.2 The photographs function as a kind of foil in a transforming photography into painting. The photo- procedure that does not merge heterogeneous ele- graph, which refers to an objective world, remains flat ments into a single plane, but instead puts them into and unspectacular. Enamel and oil paint are intranspar- competition with one another in two incompatible lay- ent in character, and have an almost sculptural quality. ers. On the one hand, the representational aspect of Applied in a quasi-destructive act, their materiality the photograph is occupied by the impasto materiality remains so dominant that the levels, despite a variety of the paint; on the other, the depicted reality emerges of coloristic and formal affinities with which Richter is to appear in those places that are left uncovered by the concerned, contrast quite clearly with one another, at nonrepresentational materiality of the paint. times to the disadvantage of the overpainted photo- “I take lots of photographs,” said Richter in an inter- graphs. Determining the conceptual basis of such pic- view in 1988. “It’s difficult to find something you can ture sequences are thematic, formal, structural, and take a photograph of, and then you have lots of photo- coloristic contradictions and correspondences. graphs and it’s difficult to decide which one is right to Their striking inconsistencies can be traced, to cite paint.”3 Richter’s own photographs, often produced in Uwe M. Schneede, to the opposition between “great extensive series, rarely betray any conscious artistic abstraction” and “great realism,” as explained by impulse. For the most part, they are unspecific, and Kandinsky in 1911 in his essay “On the Question of resemble rapid snapshots, propelled by the hope of Form” in the Der Blaue Reiter almanac.5 While photographing something by chance that might satisfy Kandinsky’s utopian intentions and ideological concep- the requirements of a reality that allows itself to be tions, however, were directed toward the overcoming painted. This seldom occurs, as Richter emphasizes, of positivism and materialism,6 Richter’s photographs and led toward the discovery of another option—using overpainted with oils address a fundamental dichot- the photograph not simply as a model, but altering and omy, yet do not strive for interpenetration, because transforming it with paint. The protracted process of the connection to reality of the illustrative photograph translating a small photograph into a far larger oil and the reality of oils not only contradict but also chal- painting, as practiced by Richter in particular during the lenge each other. early 1960s, and later, albeit more seldom, is sup- The contrast with respect to material and technique planted now by a spontaneous gesture which gives rise does not imply, however, that no relationships exist to an independent, nonrepresentational, informal, between photography and oil painting. When we per- even abstract reality, one that takes up the shape of the ceive an overpainted photograph as an overall form,

411 chapter 14

this is due primarily to formal correspondences ist himself, for example one dated December 4, 2006, between both levels, as contingent as these may seem. where whitish veils of paint have rendered him virtually In the final analysis, it is vision, which is to say the art- invisible. What remains separate in the paintings after ist’s gaze, that determines which results become part photographs is conjoined in the overpainted photo- of his larger oeuvre, or are instead discarded. In the graphs often with convincing, at times, though, with process, form takes absolute precedence for Richter, double-edged results, it would appear. As an artist who while content is secondary.7 is concerned primarily with form, Richter would, perhaps, be reluctant to interpret his family photographs, reworked and at times distorted with thick oil paint, in firenze terms of content as well as psychologically. The assumption that the overpainted photographs The edition “Firenze,”8 dating from the year 2000, is are the result of a genuinely artistic development cannot to be confused with the eponymous small edition not be verified. The radical separation of originally that Richter had produced in 1999–2000, which docu- related tendencies into two formally and semantically ments the book Firenze, edited by Dietmar Elger in distinct levels (photograph here, painting there) rep- 2001. The photographs that have been reworked with resents only one of a number of possibilities to which oils are three rather innocuous postcards of rows of Richter had recourse, if he felt it was justified. In partic- houses set along the languidly flowing Arno River ular the constant alternation between repetition and (pl. 236). To the dominant diagonal sweep into spatial variation, between regularity and rupture are topics of depth toward the right, areas of impasto oils respond, immediate character in such series. The way in which almost like tatters coming off paper, applied to the sur- he creates relationships despite all contradictoriness is face in four different ways.9 In the process, a cliché is something he would practice and perfect later on as not only identified, but is also severely disrupted. This well. Publications such as Sils, Obrist, and Beirut confirm cannot fail to affect visitors to this city of such great this convincingly, while major works like War Cut and cultural and art historical significance, for the interven- Wald follow a different principle, leaving the photo- tion with lumps of oil paint that appear to have been graphs untouched but confronting them with text. It is carelessly flung disavows this stereotypical, hardly spec- fair to say, meanwhile, that in terms of quantity alone, tacular view of riverside buildings in the shadow. To be the singular photograph supplemented or reworked sure, the cycle could be understood in other ways, but, with an enamel or oils, represents a large portion of his given the complexity and subtlety of the individual total oeuvre. Not everything here is significant, excel- treatments, it can hardly be dismissed as a merely for- lent, or important, but nearly everything possesses per- mal exercise. The exciting aspect of the series is not sonal character, and is characterized by nonchalance, least the way in which the three similar views evoke authority, formal and coloristic confidence, but also by divergent reactions in form and color, excluding the wit and lightness, by irony and earnestness—all of which idea of a morphogenesis.10 enlarges our conception of an oeuvre that is incompa- What is not of grave importance in landscapes can rable in its complexity and vastness. turn out to be so in figural scenes. A viewer might ask himself involuntarily whether this procedure would not lead to an unwitting violation of the depicted figures, books or even their annihilation in effigy. Asked about this,11 Richter referred to such considerations as far-fetched, From the very beginning, Richter has been interested in explaining that he handled many such photographs in other media, and has either recited texts at his exhibi- this way. The great majority would turn out to be tions (e.g. in Fulda in September of 1962) or played unfruitful or wayward, and were hence discarded. This back recordings of texts (as he did at his first exhibition speaks for the remoteness of the gaze of this artist, at René Block’s gallery in late 1964–early 1965). And, who concerns himself primarily with formal or coloris- early on he began to reflect on his art, and to write tic correspondences. For Richter, then, a photograph is about these reflections. Some of these projects first and foremost a trigger for coloristic, formal, and became known only much later—such as his Comic Strip material intervention, while for the most part he of 1962, for which he originally failed to find a pub- regards the subject as secondary—doubtless a source of lisher. Only in 2014, more than half a century later, this irritation for the unbiased viewer. fantasy narrative of drawings and text was published, An example are the various family photographs. In about isolation and self-discovery, the relationship one of the overworked photographs, which is dated between the individual and the crowd, as well as the November 22, 1999, the artist is recognizable together conflict between isolation and an egomaniac’s preten- with his family (pl. 237). The photograph, more sions to power. Revealed within was a hitherto com- guessed at than actually seen, evidently depicts a happy pletely unknown side of the artist. In subsequent years, group set against the panorama of Florence. In any he designed invitations or wrote press releases for his event, the physiognomies of Richter and his wife would exhibitions. Many of these activities were the result of suggest this, while little more is visible of the other his own initiative, while some emerged from proposals individuals than a hairstyle or a face turned toward the or suggestions from others, among them artists, cura- side. Like a violent intrusion, expansive areas of white tors, art dealers, and publishers. paint, tinged with green and black, cover much of the Richter’s interest in self-publishing manifested itself vacation idyll, which essentially vanishes, with the for the first time in 1966, when a modest booklet exception of the above-mentioned details. Viewed as appeared on the occasion of an exhibition at the an abstraction, the image works, seeming coherent and Galerie h, run by August Haseke in Hannover. As the convincing, but in terms of content, an abyss seems to title Polke / Richter. Richter / Polke suggests, the slender open up, presumably not consciously intended, but no volume was conceived and designed collaboratively by less irritating for that. The same can be said of many the two artists.12 This booklet has been commented on overpainted photographs that show Sabine Moritz, in some detail in the opening chapter; it does not eluci- either alone (pl. 235) or together with one of their chil- date the exhibition as such but instead asserts itself as dren (pl. 234). It is also true of photographs of the art- an independent add-on, alternating between preten-

412 overpainted photographs, books, and pictures

sion and self-irony. Sentences such as, “I find some amateur photographs to be better than the best Cézanne,” are intended to trigger dissent, proving some latitude for their works in exhibitions, “which are directed primarily against explanations and precon- ceived judgments.”13 “There was also a strong desire to provoke. Everybody was producing serious catalogs, and we wanted to make fun of everything,” Richter said half a century later.14 In the period that followed, Richter developed clear structures for his publications, elevating regularity and control as primary criteria. This becomes very evident not least when looking at the long and highly complex history of the artist’s book in broad outlines. Numerous such books have been published since the Fig. 153 second half of the 19th century. They distinguish them- ice Gerhard Richter, Eis, 1981 selves from the ubiquitous mass-produced products of Artist‘s book the publishing industry not only through a specific A book published in 1981 with the lapidary title Ice,20 Edizione Galleria Pieroni, Rome combination of text and images, but also in their was limited by Richter to the reproduction of his own 1981, unpaginated designs—high aesthetic ambitions, indulging in extrava- photographs of the Arctic Sea, taken in 1972 during a gance and radicalism. Particular printing techniques, trip to Greenland (fig. 153). The layout, with its mirror expensive paper, and a special typography are all testa- imaging, rotations, doublings, and gaps in these con- ment to this, while a limited, small edition makes the spicuously pale photographs of heroic icebergs, slick product exquisite and precious. bodies of water, and dark coastlines with sparse vege- Leaving aside the early Comic Strip and the booklet tation and little villages, follows its own rhythm; it cap- for his exhibition at the Galerie h, Richter remained tures the restrained melancholy of hostile nature, an indebted to conventional principles of book design in impression that is counteracted by the strong colors of his later books, exhibition catalogs, and editions of the cover, with its intermingling of flowing and lumi- interviews or notes. “When Richter chose the book as a nous tones. Emerging here are the coming apart and medium, he wanted its material presence to appear interlocking of various visual levels, modes of depic- familiar so that it would not distract from the images tion, and techniques that were to determine large he was presenting in this framework.”15 This became areas of Gerhard Richter’s art, particularly toward the abundantly clear in 1972 when he published the first late 1980s. edition of the Atlas.16 This was followed by additional, often rather modest publications, some as boxed sets of prints.17 128 Details from a Picture (Halifax 1978) of sils 1980 is no exception, and an important publication also discussed in more detail earlier in this volume. It is The booklet Sils appeared in 199221 on the occasion of worth recalling, however, how the artist succeeded in a Richter exhibition in Nietzsche’s former retreat in the showing the inherent artistic possibilities of the paint- town of Sils. It contains texts by Peter André Bloch and ing Halifax: through a rigid arrangement of pairs of Hans Ulrich Obrist, the editor. The small volume (just black-and-white illustrations in identical format respec- 90 pages) was reprinted in German, French, tively on each of the 64 pages. Only a book has the and English in 2002, and again in German, English, and potential—double-page by double-page—to suggest an Spanish in 2009. With two exceptions (see below), the inexhaustible reservoir of “communications” and “mes- reproductions are photographs reworked in oils that sages,” with the consequence that the photographic were taken in the Swiss canton of Engadine in 1990 results are conveyed through a double processing and and 1991. The reworkings by the artist allow both tech- organization: “The resulting 128 photographs were niques to appear in competition with one another organized in two versions: one, the sequential order (fig. 154), as though wanting to do justice to an experi- that is presented here under the covers of a book, and ence of Nietzsche’s which the writer noted on a second version which is presented pictorially in grid- September 3, 1888, after composing the preface to his form (128 Details from a Picture, 1978, 127 × 400 cm, Twilight of the Idols: “Stepping out into the open air in photographs on board, framed, Collection Kaiser- the morning, I discovered the most beautiful day which Wilhelm-Museum, Krefeld).”18 Appearing in 1998 on Upper Engadine had ever showed me—transparent, the basis of this photographic material in an edition glowing colors, encompassing all of the contrasts, all of of 1,060 copies was a new version of the book: “128 the transitions, between the ice and the south.”22 In Fotos von einem Bild / 128 Details from a Picture (Halifax this singular landscape, the philosopher—whose works 1978 III.”19 This already indicates the enormous impor- Richter had read in his youth—had experienced an tance Richter attaches to the choice of form of appear- immediate exposure to the laws of nature, while in ance and dissemination of his ideas and aesthetic Richter’s artistic production, the fundamental princi- strategies. In the end, the self-designed book seemed ples of morality and aesthetics, of concept and form, to be more important than the exhibition catalog, con- depiction and comparison, experienced an incredibly ceived by other graphic artists or designers, even fresh shape.23 though he never lost sight of that medium, and did not The series of reworked landscape photographs, refrain from interfering when it appeared necessary. A which focus primarily on the snow-capped peaks of the few books that belong in this context were published surrounding mountains, are initiated by the reproduc- as late as the beginning of the 1980s. Notably, their tion of the multiple Transformation of 1968, which number increased with the artist’s advancing age, and shows the transformation of a mountain into a sphere, nearly all of the most important books appeared only (putatively) undertaken jointly by Polke and Richter.24 after the start of the new millennium. Discussed below The series is concluded by another multiple, created are a few exemplary books. in 1992, namely a photograph of a stainless steel ball

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pictures by Gerhard Richter. A second edition in color of Ice dates from 2011.32 That same year, Richter’s Night Sketches, consisting of diagrams, hatchings, tentative linear webs, and scribbles alongside figural and physi- ognomic studies from the period between August 14, 2005 and April 19, 2009, was published in London. The slender volume is a kind of supplement for Richter, 66 Drawings, Halifax 1978, which, accompanied by two texts by Gerhard Storck, was published in 1997 by the Kaiser Wilhelm Museum. Beirut was published in 2012, and in 2013, Suhrkamp Verlag published Message from Quiet Moments, to which Alexander Kluge contributed eighty-nine poems and Richter sixty-four pictures. Further books could be named as well, each meriting a Fig. 154 weighing 16 kilograms, and each of the eleven copies specific commentary. While that is impossible here, Gerhard Richter, Sils, 1992 was inscribed with the name of one of the surrounding three books will be examined in more detail, since they Artist’s book mountain peaks.25 have a special status within the spectrum of Richter art- Verlag der Buchhandlung Engendering additional formal relationships are the ist’s books as a whole. Walther König, Cologne 2002, round lumps of paint on the photographs, joined by unpaginated small white dabs that resemble snowflakes, along with photographs of a full moon above the mountain range, war cut while a portrait of the artist introduces a personal aspect into the booklet, testifying to his on-site pres- In 2004, Richter published War Cut.33 This book, com- ence. In this publication, to be sure, painting is pushed prising 344 pages, contains close-ups of Abstract to the foreground, sometimes more, sometimes less, Painting 1987 (fig.155 ) taken by the artist in 2002 at the but the motivic linkages and the interplay of the two Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, without media endow the pages of the book with an autono- knowing what he might eventually use them for. The mous status. Not least because of the modest format reproductions are combined with text that appeared in of Sils, which is smaller than a conventional postcard, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on March 20 and 21, the sometimes sublime, sometimes inverted mountain 2003, when the Iraq War broke out. panorama appears simultaneously poignant and repel- It is well-known that the terror attacks in New York lent. The result is a small masterpiece shaped by a com- on September 11, 2001, served the United States, Great plex web of historical references and contemporary Britain, and a “coalition of the willing” as a justification impressions, conceptual strategies and spontaneous for launching an attack on Iraq eighteen months later, painterly interventions, by evidence and mysterious- which was further legitimized by the assertion that ness, contingency and controlled action.26 Saddam Hussein had gained access to weapons of mass destruction, and was seriously pursuing plans for an attack on the United States and its allies. This was later abstract painting 825–11, 69 details revealed to be untrue; the United Nations Security Council and the global public had been deliberately The book Gerhard Richter: Abstract Painting 825–11, 69 misled. The war against the regime of the Iraqi auto- Details, was produced in 1996.27 The small abstract crat, was launched on March 20, 2003, and ended on painting (61 x 51 cm), which dates from 1995, dissolves May 1 of the same year. Before long, it would become into rectangular parcels by means of color photogra- evident that this military operation resulted in the phy, which visualize in particular the squeegee fissures destabilization of the entire Middle East which persists of the top paint layer, recalling geological formations until the present day, an almost inconceivable destruc- or Bengal lights on primordial landscapes or frozen tion within Iraq, and a large number of deaths, to say waterfalls. Evoked here is an almost surreal phantasma- nothing of the radicalization of significant segments of goria that is barely perceptible from a distanced view the population and an increase in terrorism, also oper- of the painting. Like 128 Details from a Picture (Halifax ating internationally. 1978), the book demonstrates how the wealth of pic- Richter’s book War Cut was published in a compara- torial processes resides in the detail, and is only dis- tively large print run of 2,400 copies in German, as well closed through a close view. The dissolution into as 1,500 copies in French and 5,000 copies in English, rectangular elements also betrays a conceptual rigor, as the latter version containing articles from the New York though the aim was subordinating the results of con- Times of March 20 and 21, 2003. With the exception of trolled chance to a minimalist grid in order to demon- a special edition of 100 copies, it differs fundamentally strate the quality of mutually exclusive strategies. The from the elaborate artist’s book of a more traditional publication was conceived and designed by the artist. stamp, oriented toward a special connoisseur clientele Alongside the 69 illustrations, the unpaginated volume, via aesthetic design and a limited edition .34 with its cardboard slipcase, contains a text by Hans The photographs of his large-format paintings, taken Ulrich Obrist; 4,090 books were printed in German, in 1987, scan the surface of the squeegeed paint layers, 5,000 in English. as though he wanted to decipher enigmatic phenomena of the macro level with his photographic details Aside from a new edition of 128 Fotos von einem Bild / (pl. 239). The arrangement of these illustrations in con- Fig. 155 129 Details from a Picture, Halifax 1978 III, which was nection with empty spaces on the one hand and blocks 28 Gerhard Richter, published in 1998, it was to take some years before of text on the other (fig.156 ), follows an ingenious lay- “Abstraktes Bild” [Abstract Painting], 1987, Richter would return to the medium of the artist’s out until the middle of the book, and then repeats Oil on canvas book. War Cut was published in 200429 with Wald fol- itself, albeit in reversed order, with the text retaining its CR 648/2, 225 x 200 cm lowing in 2008,30 and Obrist was published in 2009.31 In consecutive configuration. Found at the end of the vol- Musée d’art moderne 2010, Suhrkamp Verlag published December, combining ume is a diagram of the layout as a whole, along with a de la Ville de Paris twenty-nine stories by Alexander Kluge with thirty-nine register of the included texts.

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Immersing oneself in War Cut—turning the pages, looking, reading—the reports and commentary, drawn from war reportage of the time, evokes an impression of the destruction, the violence, the suffering of the civil population, and the deaths of so many people. But the reader also encounters reports about parliamen- tary debates, diplomatic activities, currency fluctua- tions, stock market reports, economic events, and historical and cultural reminiscences. In the process one thing becomes clear: the impotence of the remote viewer, who perceives, reflects, and perhaps comments on dreadful events from a safe distance. The global and virtually instantaneous transmission of filtered facts, which gruesome occurrences in real time often render outdated as soon as they are disseminated, transforms military confrontations and their immediate conse- tion and human suffering, but also convey information Fig. 156 quences into global media events that are as spectacu- about heterogeneous life worlds that have only indi- Gerhard Richter, lar as they are remote. Often, it is a question not simply rect contact with the events of the war and seem to War Cut, 2004 of informing and enlightening the populace, but abet agnosticism. The color details, meanwhile, Artist’s book, pp.103–104 instead of merely disseminating propaganda, designed develop their own invigorating aura, asserting the exis- to legitimate the war. tence of an aesthetic counterworld, one that is remote Although War Cut deals with the Iraq war, it is not a and indifferent from the more or less factual content political or historical account, and does not take the of the text passages. With regard to the book’s the- form of a critical commentary or a moral evaluation. matic material, it is not just language that is disquali- Instead, Richter seeks to come to terms with a reality fied, as Meincke claims, but art and painting as well, that is propagated by the media, subordinating this incapable as they are of competing with the verbal ren- reality nonetheless to a rigorous mechanism of abstrac- dering and the illustrating media photograph. tion—one that preserves the autonomy of the various In principle and initially, War Cut demonstrates noth- levels, but which also formalizes and controls them ing other than the independence of text and image. As down to the smallest detail. At times, the details of the a consequence, Richter’s book reinforces the doubt— paintings, with their streaks, torn-open paint skin, scars, one difficult to verify—that neither unspecific visual blisters, and fissures, which alternate with empty space messages nor verbally communicated information or or text-filled fields, might trigger associations with the commentary are trustworthy, and that the medial uni- murderous inferno. Almost unavoidably, the reproduc- verse camouflages the devastating reality of battle tions of the details of the abstract painting will reso- operations and the suffering and dying of the victims as nate with articles read in the Frankfurter Allgemeine much as the corresponding reportage and commen- Zeitung. But the sequence of color images does not tary. Indirectly, War Cut claims that since the immedi- illustrate reality, conveys nothing factual, so that rela- acy of medial images from the war theater and the tionships between the events mentioned in the texts flood of contradictory information remain unverifiable and the aesthetic level of the book remain indetermi- with regard to their truth content, they ultimately rein- nate, simply eliciting an ambivalent atmosphere or an force the helplessness and impotence of the remote unverifiable feeling. In the end, War Cut generates a observer, thereby eliciting a sense of indifference. sense of distance, is a book that absolves not just the To be sure, the war is not disclaimed in and with War author, but the viewer and reader of responsibility, Cut, yet emerges as something utterly inconceivable, transforming them into abstract figures, who, induced incommensurable, and opaque. In part, this happens perhaps by the verdict of form, might dismiss any sen- indirectly (in the color details), in part directly (in the sation of empathy as sentimentality. text passages from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung). Through the formalized processing of the material, The violence, the terror, the suffering, and the whole- the conditions of reception are defined; at the same scale destruction cannot be relayed by images from time, it is made clear that only contingent or vague entirely different contexts, while the words that refer relationships between image and text are possible, to them directly, can only express this context in vague which are owed to the imagination or expertise, or terms, since they are withholding the facticity of events perhaps the specific expectations of the beholder. The from the reader. two spheres remain separate, and proceed more in On disparate levels, art and painting at most evoke leaps against, rather than in conjunction with one something resembling a counterworld, creating inter- another. The color illustrations do not render the text mittent bridges between that which is referenced by comprehensible, nor does the text explain what is visi- the words and that to which the color details refer. ble in the reproduced details of an abstract painting. Richter’s War Cut is a stringently structured and deeply Guido Meincke, the author of an excellent book on pessimistic statement which can, by virtue of its formal time-specific works by Richter, summarizes the matter rigor, easily be misread. While John Cage stated that he as follows: “The more one reads, the more the images had nothing to say, and was saying it (a sentence are detached from their conceptual appropriation, Richter has cited repeatedly), Richter’s message, as for- developing an independent dynamic and reconquering mulated indirectly in War Cut, seems to be: I have abso- ambiguity. As a result, conceptual activity is thrown lutely no hope and I’m showing it. In an interview back upon itself, the consistency of the text is under- conducted in late May, 2004 by Jan Thorn-Prikker, mined, and language as a medium of conclusive expla- Richter suggested that it was less mourning and more nation is disqualified.”35 With some exaggeration, one rage that motivated him to take up the project War could say that the text, literally molded into a desert of Cut: “Mainly rage because war is upsetting, because it greyish lead, appears as graphic blocks, and precisely demonstrates our impotence, because obviously we because these blocks cover not just the murderous can’t prevent it, because we cannot assess it anywhere events of the war and its consequences, that is destruc- near adequately. That is also why I absolutely avoided

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expressing any opinion, which is completely useless Some observers perceived these events as a clash of here and obstructs the attempt to come somewhat civilizations,39 while others identified the causes of this closer to the truth . . . But I did not have so much cause outbreak of violence as politically and economically to mourn. September 11 horrified me to a greater motivated, without overlooking the contributory factor extent.”36 A painting executed not long after the book of religious fanaticism. War Cut confirms this statement, and demands to be In 2005, when Richter created his picture, these fate- considered in this context by virtue of this extraordi- ful events were not yet anticipated in all of their conse- nary quality, and not least by virtue of the immediate quences, but the attack on the World Trade Center evidence of its motif. was still strongly present in the public consciousness, not least through the powerful tide of images which flooded the media. september Compared with what eyewitnesses still recalled after many months, however, or what had been captured on The main trigger for the war against Iraq was the terror film, video, and photographs, Richter’s restrained, and attack on the World Trade Center in New York City on at first glance almost otherworldly vision of the events September 11, 2001. One year after the publication of of September 11, 2001, emerges as an eroded visualiza- War Cut, Richter produced a midsized painting (52 x tion of the explosion of these monuments into blood, 72 cm) which bears the lapidary title September rubble, and ashes, and could, in a sense, even be (fig. 157). Recognizable in the image are the events that received as a revenant ghost.40 When Richter began caused the two skyscrapers to collapse, killing more this painting several years after these events, he had than 3,000 people and injuring many more. Gerhard access to a number of color reproductions from maga- Richter was expected in New York on September 13, zines, which he integrated into the Atlas. Also serving when an exhibition of his works was opening at the as points of references were various large-format Marian Goodman Gallery. On September 11, he found abstract drawings from 2005.41 While working on the himself on a flight to New York with his wife when the painting, he mounted some of these sheets alongside terrorists flew the first plane into the World Trade his easel (fig. 158). The final form of the composition Center. Immediately thereafter, the entire airspace of was based on a drawing with the same dimensions as the United States was closed to passenger traffic, and the canvas. While the towers are depicted in painstak- the Richters’ Lufthansa flight was rerouted to Canada. ing detail, the explosion and the smoke are only indi- Two days after landing in Halifax, Richter and his wife cated schematically. returned to Cologne.37 According to statements by the artist, the genesis of For the so-called West as a whole, the destruction of this painting was strongly shaped by a sense of contra- these powerful global symbols of capitalism was an diction. “The little picture of two towers,” remarked inconceivable shock and a traumatic event. The eradi- Richter in 2006, “was very colorful to start with, with cation of this symbol of economic and financial policy the garish explosion beneath the wonderful blue had already been predicted when the twin towers were sky and the flying rubble. That couldn’t work; only still being built, in fact, it was first attempted in 1993, when I destroyed it, so to speak, scratched it off, it after various disaster movies had conjured up precisely became acceptable.”42 such a criminal act.38 The impact on global politics of The painting (fig. 157) is characterized by black, deep this devastating act of violence was immediately evi- gray, and pale blue, and depicts the moment when dent, while the initially unforeseeable consequences United Airlines Flight No. 175 flew into the southern Fig. 157 began to emerge only when the frightful emotions of tower just after 9 a.m., triggering a massive explosion. Gerhard Richter, shock and horror began to subside in intensity, and This dramatic event is only hinted at in the painting. “September” [September], countermeasures were being considered. All too pre- On the right-hand side of the picture, the twin towers 2005, dictably, this only led to further atrocities, and eventu- are only vaguely recognizable, while dark shadows and Oil on canvas ally to military confrontations. The consequences are blackish smoke, together with the whitish dust from CR 891/5, 52 x 72 cm still felt to the present day, bringing unspeakable suf- the detonation, almost entirely mask the cool, yet Museum of Modern Art, fering to so many people, particularly in the countries intense blue of a late summer day in New York City. New York of the Middle East. This darkening seems to spread across the picture surface from above, while an impression of subsidence and potential disappearance is evoked by horizontal streaks of dark gray paint; in other areas, the paint has been scraped off to such a degree that the structure of the canvas emerges clearly. This hint at a surface ten- sion in the paint layer, which threatens to tear, and the transparency of the upper layers seems to transform the painting into a brittle and partly porous foil. Painting and canvas are perceived in their materiality, yet at the same time seem to dematerialize. On the one hand, the semblance character of the depiction is emphasized and made plausible, on the other, it is undermined by what appear to be misguided brushstrokes and patches of off-white and indeterminate gray. The smeared and superimposed elements come off as unmotivated, even disturbing, yet have a similar function to the marks made by wiped-on color as in Table (pl. 1) or the overpaintings seen in landscapes from the 1980s, among them Godthab (CR 570) and Krems (pl. 147). Here however, nothing is masked, but relates directly to the events in the middle of the painting. The seemingly accidental or perhaps precisely cal-

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culated overtones of ostensible damage or impurities had been destroyed by bombs.51 Today, the artist lives do not, however, question the picture’s truth value, but not far from the area shown in the wartime photo- instead cast doubt on the character of what is por- graphs. In a certain sense, September mediates between trayed. September evokes the ambivalent impression of various genres. That this work has great significance for depicting something that cannot actually be depicted. Richter is shown by the fact that in 2009, he prepared The catastrophe and collective trauma manifested in an edition of inkjet prints of this work.52 the attack and destruction of the World Trade Center September touches on the book War Cut, and indi- and the unanticipated consequence of this terrorist act rectly also refers to the cycle October 18, 1977.53 Refer seem to justify a desire for artistic rendition while at ences to contemporary history are apparent in all three the same time undermining it. What is separated by works. Here, as in many other instances, Richter places War Cut is astonishingly joined together by Richter’s great emphasis on the primacy of form. In 2004, he style of painting, confirming the semblance character said: “Form is all we have to help us cope with funda- of the formed work and its significance very much in mentally chaotic facts and assaults. Formulating some- Adorno’s spirit. “Ultimately, art is semblance in that, in thing is a great start. I trust form, trust my feeling or the midst of meaninglessness, it is unable to escape the capacity to find the right form for something. Even if suggesting of meaning.”43 that is only by being well organized. That, too, is form.” To paint this indescribably gruesome act of violence And in reference to September 11, 2001, and the Iraq so exquisitely is not an attempt to whitewash it, but to War, as well as War Cut, and in anticipation of the not make people aware of the plight of those afflicted by yet executed picture September, he added: “In this case brutality, making it more difficult, if not impossible, for the facts are so overpowering, the contents so crucial, the viewer to turn away once the subject of the image the form is also all the more significant. We need it has been recognized. To paint in such a way that emo- simply to be able to deal with the subject matter.”54 tional strain is circumvented while voyeuristic pleasure at a disturbing event is blocked, it is necessary, as Storr claims with good reason, to employ the most challeng- wald ing artifice to depict the increasingly less comprehensible reality of human suffering.44 The book Wald was published in 2008.55 It is another That Richter successfully grappled with this trauma artist’s book with just under 400 pages and 286 color by representing the non-representable, is essentially, as illustrations, based on photographs the artist took in elaborated upon by Buchloh,45 due to the unique ten- the winter of 2005 in Hahnwald and in the environs of sion embodied in painting between the absolute neces- Cologne. The texts are drawn from the German- sity to visualize memories of events, and its incapacity language magazine Waldung. Magazin für Wald, Wandern, to resolve this challenge using purely painterly Wissen, no. 1, 2006, edited by Nikolaus Theile, although resources in a way other than through recourse to the punctuation marks, place names, and names of individ- origin of the image—namely the paradoxical link uals were removed. In addition, the articles (“Hiking in between trauma and desire. the Spessart,” “Of Ravens and Songbirds,” “Watch out It should not be forgotten, meanwhile, that any for Wild Boar,” “Magic Trees, Mud, and Forest Dwarfs,” description or analysis of an image courts the danger of and so forth) were randomized by a computer in such subjecting the visible to the capacity of language for a way that the sequence of words produces neither rendering things visible. The word (that is, verbal context nor meaning. Set in blocks, they at times fill description) renders something visible, it names and entire pages, or may be reduced to just a few lines, so conjures up that which is absent, it unveils that which is that in places, a number of word cascades are set hidden; this act of rendering visible can only succeed opposite an illustration. Many double pages are illus- through caution in one’s choice of words. An attempt trated, while pages of pure text are rare. Despite the to understand the painting September is therefore a motivic restriction, when browsing through the pages double underdetermination, a tacit compromise one encounters a lively, varied course, which strongly between visualization (through the word) and the underscores that here too, Gerhard Richter’s primary Fig. 158 non-visualization of the word.46 In fact, there is nothing interest is in the book’s formal structure. Contentual Gerhard Richter’s studio in the nature of the event that is unrepresentable. aspects are not thereby withheld, but are delegated with “September” “There are simply options to choose from. The choice exclusively to the photographs. [September] 2005 of the present as against historicization; the decision to represent an accounting of the means, the materiality of the process, as opposed to the representation of causes. The causes that render the event resistant to any explanation by a principle of sufficient reason, be it fictional or documentary, must be left on hold.”47 As in so many other pictures by Richter, the visible possesses special traits. It not only makes something visible, “it imposes presence.”48 For Robert Storr, September is a history painting. The motif, unquestionably, is one reason; it refers back to Richter’s townscapes of the late 1960s. They recall the bombardments of World War II, thereby evoking events that were long burdened by a taboo, one that Richter broke with his works. His depictions of military equipment belong in this context as well.49 Produced in 2005 alongside the painting September was an edition of color photographs after the painting Mustang Squadron of 1964 (CR 19).50 In 2000, Gerhard Richter based an edition of offset prints on an aerial image of February 14, 1945, which showed areas of Cologne that

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Fig. 159 Gerhard Richter, Wald, 2008 Artist‘s book, pp.42–43

The motif of the forest preoccupied Richter in 1990, uncultivated biotope. Already the first, very dense when he created four exceptionally striking abstract image captivates with its special imagery: long, gently works bearing the same title (for example, pl. 209). In curving, leafless branches, many broken off, strewn particular the color scheme, restricted to an intense about on the ground or towering up into the sky, held blue and several yellow and green tones, is certainly in place by other branches, and behind them strong, capable of evoking romantic associations, far more, in upright trunks in dense conglomerations of branches any event, than in the series of twelve pictures bearing that seem impenetrable and impassable. A moss-cov- the same title from 2005 (CR 892/1–12). Presumably, ered, diagonal curve on the forest ground might indi- the series of 2005 resonates with all the romantic con- cate an earlier beaten track, but this is the only notations attributed to the German forest over time, indication to contradict an initial association with the but in the works themselves, this is difficult to compre- “primeval forest.” In some places, there had been hend, because Richter has deliberately avoided any windthrow, in others, the trunks had been cut up, but corresponding stylistic and, in particular, motivic ele- the wood was left lying around (fig. 159). This is a ments.56 Nor does the book betray any emotions for record of a decaying, battered forest, a type of wilder- the neologism Waldeinsamkeit (“forest solitude”), first ness. Significantly, animals do not appear; only once coined by German romantic author Ludwig Tieck does a brown dog stray into a photograph. The atmo- around 1800. Ever since the forest dieback entered sphere indicates fall or winter. There are no shoots or public awareness and discussions, particularly in the buds, no growth or proliferation, and instead only stag- 1980s, the notion of a marvelous and beautiful wilder- nancy, decay, breakage, and deforestation. ness, which every hiker could explore and conquer for Browsing further and moving from photograph to himself, had long since come to an end.57 photograph, there is one stereotypical perspective very The tradition of forest paintings, beginning with similar in all images, and it betrays Richter’s interest in romantic renditions and Adalbert Stifter’s Der Hochwald the entanglements, interpenetration, and superimposi- (The Forest; 1842) or Henry David Thoreau’s Walden; or, tion of forms. Many photographs were taken under Life in the Woods (1854), and continuing to Ernst cloudy skies, so that the distinction between shrubs in Jünger’s Der Waldgang (The Forest Passage; 1951) and the light or shade is barely perceptible, and this strongly numerous publications of Peter Wohlleben, a contem- shapes the overall structure. The numerous formal cor- porary German nature writer and forest ranger, is no respondences and the carefully considered framing of more called to mind here than the countless paintings the shots are conspicuous. Evidently, these are of forests by painters all the way from Caspar David indebted to compositional ideas. What first appears Friedrich to Anselm Kiefer and his contemporaries. A like the indiscriminate taking of snaps is subordinate to mass of tall vegetation in some of Richter’s photo- an ordering principle which emphasizes accents, high- graphs may lead viewers to associate it with a mass lights parallels, indicates symmetries, and makes visible symbol, prevalent in Germany’s past. It was Elias condensing and loosening. This is true not just of the Canetti who associated the rigidity and parallel forma- individual image, but also of their juxtaposition on tion of the upright standing trees, their density and double-page spreads and in sequences. Ultimately, a numbers, with an army (“the army was more than just sophisticated order subjects this bizarre forest to a for- the army. It was the marching forest.”)58 The uniform mal, abstract diagram, never granting a larger prospect, conifer forest was what Canetti had in mind, knowing which would thereby define a specific locality. full well that there are other types of woodlands, from The text consists of sequences of words without the tropical rainforest to mixed forests, from Christmas punctuation marks, which form lines, are structured tree plantations to scanty city parks.59 As we move into paragraphs or fill entire pages. Nouns, verbs, prep- from image to image, Richter’s photographs evoke nei- ositions, adjectives, adverbs, articles, and conjunctions ther romantic sentiments nor an infatuation with follow one another without generating any meaning. nature, nor even skepticism toward martial metaphors Language that is devoid of any function, of transmis- or ecological concerns. At first glance, they convey an sion, appeal, or expression, is essentially useless for impression of impassability and wildness, of chaos and communicative purposes. The most important medium disorder. The permeation of undergrowth and high in interpersonal relationships here experiences a funda- forest, of scrub and smooth trunks is reminiscent of an mental devaluation in relation to the image. In a certain

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sense, this rigorous formalism is reminiscent of Carl The composition of the painting was transformed into Andre’s treatment of words as sculptures: the minimal- woven ornamentation. Since this procedure was ist sculptor, in particular during the 1960s, cut up repeated with the remaining quarters of the painting, pre-existing texts and ordered them into typographic four different carpets were created, which received images (“From Map of Poetry,” 1959 ff.), with some Arabic-sounding titles: Musa, Yusuf, Iblan (pl. 240), and horizontal or vertical letters displaying additional enig- Abdu (pl. 241). The beguilingly beautiful tapestries were matic meanings.60 Richter’s approach confirms his manufactured by Flanders Tapestries in Wielsbeke repeatedly expressed conviction that form is every- (Belgium) in an edition of ten, and it would be difficult thing, and content merely the result of the form. On to find anything that could compare. March 18, 1986, he stated that “the form . . . generates Two years later, when preparing the book, Richter a content,” and that the emergence of the work’s approached the same painting in a far more rigorous appearance can be guided “to yield to this or that con- fashion. First, he cut it vertically into two halves. The tent.”61 “Pure music,” he continues, “evolves out of its left half was mirrored, and the whole then repeated. own laws, and not out of the effort to find a form for a The same was done with the right half. This procedure specific statement.” In a certain sense, this is as true for is spelled out in the book’s subtitle: Divided, Mirrored, his painting as it is for music by and after Schönberg: a Repeated. This approach is continued systematically: the transfer to language is possible only at the cost of a halves are divided into quarters, again followed by mir- far-reaching loss of content and meaning. roring and repetition. Quarters then become eighths, The book Wald was certainly not conceived and cre- and finally sixteenths, and so forth (pl. 242). After ated in order to refute War Cut and the way it uses lan- twelve such operations, he finally arrived at 4,096 very guage, but it may have led Richter to the (quite slender vertical strips, measuring about 0.03 mm in evident) insight that an asymmetry between language width and barely distinguishable now by the naked eye. and image cannot always be made into something aes- The process could be continued, but would then be thetically fruitful. In War Cut, the blocks of text convey perceptible only through strong magnification. information on various themes, and taken by them- The publication follows the progression of these selves, contain meaning, while the images are oriented operations up until the sixth stage, and correspond- solely toward visuality, not denying their origin as ingly reproduces all of the sixty-four generated results details of an abstract painting, yet tending to cover it (pl. 244). As it continues, the number of illustrations up.With Wald, things are reversed: here, the images in this publication is necessarily reduced. Of the sub supply an abundance of information, and are highly sequent variations, formed on the basis of 128 strips, structured, while language, formalized and configured thirty-two are still reproduced. Thereafter, however, into blocks, no longer conveys a message, since seman- one exemplary selection is followed by the next, with tics has been liquidated by the dictate of form. The the twelfth and final group containing only seven of results, meanwhile, may have advanced the artist’s the 4,096 variations. insight that it is better to work over series of photo- Browsing through the 221 double-page spreads of graphs with paint rather than confronting them with this book, the effect is kaleidoscopic. While, initially, words, that is, combining the visual message with specific color and form complexes are readily legible, painterly randomness. and hence dominate the visual character of the This is visualized in Museum Visit, a series of 234 pho- spreads, this impression gradually dwindles as the com- tographs that have been reworked with paint, which partmentalization that is due to subdivisions and stages Richter created in 2011 at Tate Modern on the occa- of reflection rapidly increases. Soon, strips that are sion of his exhibition Panorama. In the book Beirut, pub- more or less closed and run from left to right (pl. 243), 62 lished in 2012 on the occasion of an exhibition, and can be made out. Staccato-style repeated constella- Fig. 160 accompanied by an essay by Achim Borchardt-Hume, tions are registered after that, which set strikingly verti- Gerhard Richter, the sequence is reproduced in full, only to be repeated cal accents in the first half of the book, and at times “Abstraktes Bild” [Abstract after a block of different reworked photographs and trigger associations with vegetal, zoomorphic, or even Painting], 1990 editions by Richter, now however in reversed order anthropomorphic forms. Oriental elements only seem Oil on canvas and with the text printed in Arabic script. In these to play a role. Recollections of Rorschach tests also sur- CR 724/4, 92 x 126 cm works and various others in the same genre, things are face, only to dissolve once more into the compartmen- Private collection not what they seem at first glance. Photograph, painting, and reality appear as incompatible, though only a sharp eye and an attentive gesture can render their differences recognizable.63 patterns

Against this background, Richter’s artist’s book entitled Patterns acquires special significance, because it is the point of departure for an entire series of spectacular and at the same time disconcerting works that probe new pictorial procedures. Published in 2011, it is a voluminous, heavy tome with an abundance of illustrations which follow a specific principle.64 The point of departure is an abstract painting from 1990 (fig.160 ) which motivated Richter to have a series of colored, Jacquard tapestries produced in 2009.65 The design was based on one quarter of the painting, mirrored first horizontally and then vertically. This resulted in a point of departure for the tapestry of a center surrounded by framing elements.

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talized structure. Fractal geometry, too, might come to ried out in Patterns becomes a hallmark of instrumental mind. Sequences of vertical elements seem to emerge reason. The successive transformation of a specific sig- in rhythm, being repeated at intervals, albeit at times nature configuration into a stratification of anonymous with reduced emphasis. In this way, ornamental motifs colored, powerfully oscillating strips has extinguished are increasingly lost in the pattern repeat. Beginning everything pictorial in the traditional sense while bring- with the resolution down to sixty-four strips (pl. 244), ing about an unpredictable result, something surprising the horizontal layering is increasingly conspicuous, the and disenchanted, something that appears attractive minimalized individual elements are deprived of their while at the same time evoking distance. Ultimately, character, and at the latest with surfaces consisting of there is the impression that abstraction “must end in a 256 vertical strips, the viewer perceives a structure simulation of mechanically organized ornamental prod- mostly consisting of numerous horizontal lines, which ucts.”66 Is this not an automatic process, one is there- are differentiated by color, intensity, brightness, width, fore tempted to ask, that initiates the subjection of and marginal sharpness (pl. 245). Increasingly, similari- perception and physical experience and subjects them ties with the abstract painting of 1990 (fig. 160) evapo- to the rules of the abstract rationality of a global digital rate, and, by the final third of the book, the patterns economy? Buchloh, who poses this question in relation are completely extinguished. to Patterns, wonders whether the artist’s abstention We are confronted here with an uncommonly elab- from the direct and manual participation in the picto- orate publication which signals by its size, weight, and rial process, an involvement that is also supposed to design alone how the stringently performed process of make painting able to compete with the industrial transformation must be associated with significant readymade, perhaps even prepares for and advances aspirations and an aesthetic message to which Richter this subjection. In the end, all that remains is the vague attaches considerable importance. Patterns holds firm hope that “Richter’s latest abstractions perhaps contain to the traditional abstract painting that forms its point methods of an imminent resistance against this fate.”67 of departure, explicating and documenting a mechanis- tic technique which continually astonishes—and sometimes possibly delights—the viewer by virtue of the strip paintings and glass pane pictures consistency of its progression. While the initial subdivisions into quarters and eighths keep the vertical struc- After this book, Richter produced various paintings ture dominant, a horizontal sensation quickly increases that, in terms of their structure, recall what emerged in with the sixteenths. At the latest with subdivision into Patterns at the end of a long process (pls. 247, 248). 1,024 elements, it is mainly stripes that are perceptible. Now, however, it is not the horizontal lines, generated If it were not for the repetition of minimal accents, one from the original painting of 1990 (fig. 160) through would not even notice the process of division. With the division, mirroring, and repetition, that are converted 2,048-fold and finally the 4,096-fold subdivision, noth- into pictures. The book Patterns demonstrates only the ing of the vertical stripes is visible any longer. Through process, which is to say the dissolution of a painting this process of division, mirroring, and repetition, it is into an ever-denser series of colored lines that have no now only the horizontal, oscillating lines that remain pictorial or contentual relationship with the original recognizable. Evidently, Richter did not attempt to take image, but are instead purely contingent.68 the process further with an 8,196-fold division, presum- In his next step, Richter had numerous strips printed, ably because the result would not have led to any from which he then selected some to join them graphically comprehensible results. together vertically. He assembled the strips, dissected From a more long-term perspective, the conse- into ever smaller parts, in such a way that it is “as quences of this strategy also evoke something deeply though he were no longer involved with the results of disillusioning, even alarming. Emerging through the a complicated procedure, and instead with a set of free play of flexible, unbounded forms and the richly directly given lines . . . The decisive point was that the orchestrated coloration, through multiple division, per- mechanical process flipped over into a different qual- petual mirroring and unremitting repetition—traversing ity, there was a leap from strip to line, from vertical intermediate stages, generating an abundance of cutout to horizontal extension.”69 In order to ensure impressions and poetical moments—something increas- precision as things proceeded, the digital data from the ingly anonymous, clear, cold, and stereotypical is gen- hand-mounted strips was registered and transmitted to erated, something that creates distance, evoking the printer, which transferred them to paper in the rationality and masking every trace of empathy while desired format. The results are pictures, although the eliminating, ultimately, every indication of subjectivity. “strips” have nothing in common with painterly In contrast to such minimalist perfectionism, the paint- approaches.70 The obvious identity of color and prime ing that forms the project’s point of departure pre- coat in these works is dissolved in such a way that the serves a clear facture, manifest in the traces of the lines do not form units, but are instead composed of human hand, and hence indirectly also in the personal, pixels. The sensorial nature of the canvas is replaced by controlled decisions of the artist, including all sponta- transparent acrylic glass, which impedes direct access neous interventions and changes of direction, as well as to the paint surface.71 This does not, however, mean potential coincidences that result from the nature of that Richter had transformed himself into a digital art- the materials used. The access to manifold forms that is ist, for his thinking remained analog, and the contrast so characteristic of this painting, its spontaneous or with the traditional production of paintings became reflective metamorphoses, the subtle alterations of evident only while he was painting.72 The Strip paintings contour, internal structure, and surface indicate the flout conventional concepts of painting, and are potential of abandoning the sphere of contingency divorced from all of the aesthetic ideas generated by within the picture while intimating at correspondences. the subject’s unconscious. Nonetheless, they can cer- An overall variability and flexibility are maintained, any tainly be positioned together with the monochrome form of determinism is undermined. mirrors and the glass panes on which he began to work When faced with the painting of 1990, the rigorous in 2008.73 What makes the Strip paintings stand out is procedure—so intolerant of interruption or devia- the primacy of visuality, their unsentimental presence, tions—of division, mirroring, and repetition that is car- and their fascination with chromaticism. “The more

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heightened the visual delight in the condensed sensa- than assimilating themselves? Adorno responds in the tions offered by the lines, the more the capacity of the negative to the question he himself had posed: Radical beholder to define their uniqueness misfires. Without art today is synonymous with dark art; its primary color passing judgment, Richter plunges the beholder into a is black, and by ignoring this, by delighting in color, dilemma between visibility and recognition, delivering contemporary art disqualifies itself.80 Against this back- him into a situation which demands to be articulated ground, Richter’s Strip paintings are not to be under- outside of the familiar categories of painting.”74 stood as resistance against the existent, but instead as Through the uniform repetition and stretching of the affirmation on the one hand and at the same time strips, which the viewer might conceive as continuing negation on the other—not indifference then, but beyond the boundaries of the picture, the Strip paint- ambivalence. ings deny all illusion and all spatial experience. But that is not all. As so often, in practice, Richter Richter’s gradation of parallel lines thereby also simultaneously adopts the opposite position. Produced detaches itself from the grid, that is to say, from one of alongside diverse structures made of glass, the realiza- the dominant pictorial paradigms of Modernism, which tion of the Patterns, and his preoccupation with the defines a self-contained pictorial field through the Strip paintings are enamel paintings on glass panes that intersection of horizontal and vertical lines. The con- have an antirely different character (fig. 161; pls. 249– trast to the works of Gene Davis, Kenneth Noland, 251). Involuntarily, the viewer wonders how it is possi- Agnes Martin, Sol LeWitt, Bridget Riley, and others is ble for the artist to pursue and to realize such striking, as Dieter Schwarz was able to demonstrate, antagonistic conceptions. The Strip paintings are based since all of them begin with the line as a positive agent on a rational, repetitive process consisting of three which shapes the design. In contrast, Richter arrives at steps. By virtue of the materiality of the paint, its con- the lines as secondary forms from procedure, of mir- sistency, fluidity, and viscosity, the enamel paintings roring and repetition of the strips.75 Connections can assume various and in particular highly unpredictable be drawn between Gerhard Richter and postmodernist forms and structures, once multiple colors are poured American art as represented primarily by Sol LeWitt, simultaneously or successively on a smooth, horizontal while any perceived affinity with forms of painting that surface. But Richter did not aim for a completely are dependent upon Modernist principles remains uncontrolled flow and admixture. Using brushes and superficial, and lacks any genuine foundation.76 To be palette knives, and by modifying the inclination of the sure, the monumental horizontal format of these acrylic glass sheets, he was able to influence the results works, measuring up to 10 meters in width, prevents and guide the paint in specific directions. This process the simultaneous apprehension of such strip paintings, of controlling chance can, of course, be interrupted at yet these works have nothing in common with Barnett any moment in order to preserve a special look or Newman,77 whose large horizontal formats do not detail. For this purpose, a glass panel in a predefined emphasize the apparent limitlessness of the perceptual format is placed in a selected position on top of the field. Narrow, vertical strips, as in Newman’s Zips, sub- colors that have just been poured out and are partly divide and structure the visual plane, unsettling the intermingling. The glass pane is then removed and has viewer through the interplay of figure and base. “Size now become the picture carrier, having fixed the exact doesn’t count. It’s scale that counts. It’s human scale configuration of the colors. This procedure can be that counts, and the only way you can achieve scale is compared with monotype, which is also very much by content.”78 dependent on framing. The Strip paintings, with their potential to suggest With the glass paintings, it is once more the artist infinite extensibility and high-velocity horizontal radia- who selects and decides. In doing so, he also asserts the tion, by no means evoke an impression of overwhelm- artistic character of the results. These steps are compa- ing sublimity, quite the contrary. Richter’s choice of rable to those made for a readymade, only that the extremely wide canvases annuls any sense of scale. outcome is, indeed, not a readymade, but an individual, They make it impossible to find a suitable position unique, and distinctive picture that points directly to from where to view them. The reason for large-format the artist and his intentions, and, perhaps, also to his painting was understood by the Abstract Expressionists intuition. Once again, Richter employs controlled con- as a human and highly personal choice. “If you paint a tingency, according greater leeway here to the guid- larger picture, you are in it. It isn’t something you com- ance procedures. mand,” was how Mark Rothko explained his preference The structures generated in this way are reminiscent for large formats.79 The viewer cannot be “in” the Strip of geological formations. The viewer may also recall paintings, and it is impossible to enter into them—figu- the marbled end papers of a bygone book culture, or ratively speaking—in the way intended by Rothko or perhaps the Lackskin technique invented by André Newman with regard to their own works. By virtue of Thomkins in the 1960s. On the other hand, the prolif- their hermetic slickness and aseptic surfaces, Richter’s erating, meandering, or sprawling weave-like shapes Strip paintings reject any emotionally coded response. are reminiscent of a realm which appears glistening Pure visuality, they are instances of chilly perfection. and alien, graceful and fabulous, but triggers hardly any Their sense of remoteness and fascination is due partly associations that transcend the viewer’s immediate to the strong emphasis on their technical character. sensations. Organic appearances seemingly alternate Manifest in them is the ascetic rationality of a disen- with geometrical ones, cool colors are juxtaposed with chanted world. For Richter in this phase of his creative luminous ones, the dazzling competes with the lacklus- production, the Modernism embodied in the strip ter, compact elements with frayed ones. It is the mate- paintings of Barnett Newman or Kenneth Noland, for rials employed which, at most, can put Richter’s glass example, is essentially obsolete. With the Strip paint- paintings in relation to traditional reverse glass paintings, after all, he has discovered an artistic technique ing, but they display virtually no other similarities with that is capable of generating something which no con- this folkloristic tradition, and seem indeed to tap into ventional mode of production could achieve. But his earlier works, such as Color Streaks (pl. 44), Details should not artworks produced within the most (figs. 132, 133) from around 1970, or editions of Ciba extreme and grim reality of a highly technoid society, chrome photographs such as Guildenstern, Ophelia,81 or one dominated by data streams, offer solace rather the 12 Rhombuses (CR 853/1–12), also from 1988.

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Pouring, flinging, melting, but also diverting and Arabian Nights, also known as One Thousand and One channeling, or mixing and scrambling, are techniques Nights. To be sure, these titles may be interpreted as a most often associated with Art Informel or Abstract homage to the magnificence of Islamic culture, while Expressionism (Pollock), and perhaps also with Land the graphic character of Richter’s glass pane paintings Art (Robert Smithson, Asphalt Rundown, 1969) and is suggestive primarily of flexibility, unconventionality, Conceptual Art (Richard Serra, Splashing, 1968), with and freedom, phenomena unknown in the Arab tradi- Viennese Actionism (Hermann Nitsch, Poured Paint tion, reliant on ornaments, patterns, and calligraphy. ings), and with the Nouveaux Réalistes (César, Expan Islamic culture developed two-dimensional symmetries sions). Richter’s glass paintings are indirectly related to of such complexity that they first had to be translated these changes from the 1950s onward, but for him, it is and abstracted by mathematics into the language of not a question of expanding the boundaries of art, but algebra before shapes and patterns used, for example, rather of fathoming the inherent possibilities of paint- in the interior decoration of the Alhambra in Granada ing as a medium. Richter takes up an almost archaic could be configured and made comprehensible.89 technique, albeit with a certain refinement and enno- Richter’s glass pictures, on the other hand, suggests a blement. He is not at all interested—as Buchloh claims— sphere in which the marvelous encounters the eerie, in invalidating those standards that have up to now the fantastic is transformed into the gruesome, the guaranteed a dialectic of artistic intention and contin- quaint surfaces alongside the sublime, and beauty is gency, of subjective freedom and the resistance of the confronted by ugliness. The temptation to indulge in material, of exemplary artistic subjectivity and sobering such impressions is restrained by the circumstance that de-subjectivization.82 In particular the revitalization of the materiality of the paint is not directly perceptible, almost primeval techniques, based on pouring, spread- but is instead seen through the glass. Although trans- ing, smearing, wiping, and mixing, are not to be under- parent, the pane of glass as a support simultaneously stood as a “deceptively crude denial of all expressive functions as a barrier that creates distance. Added to work or iconic potentials,” which, together with “this this is an impression of fragility that demands distance saccharine chromatic temptation” reinforces the anti- and caution. aesthetic skepticism supposedly inherent in Richter’s In 2013, Richter returned to this technique again more recent works.83 There can be no question here to after an extended pause, but decided on a far larger speak of “the most thorough-going disenchantment of format. The series with the self-explanatory title Flow the mystical promises” of painting. Indeed, this is not (fig. 161; pl. 251) no longer has an intimate character, about “a desystematization and desublimation of all of but has an uncommonly suggestive impact. the principles of painterly processes known to date,” as Strip paintings and glass pane paintings were then Buchloh asserts.84 In my view, the fascinating quality of produced alongside one another, once more bringing this series is in the intermingling colors, from which we to mind the enormous and consistent range of are separated by crystal-clear glass, implying a certain Richter’s work. What the two groups of work share is distance, offering us something quite unexpected: they the material, glass, which on the one hand protects the are simply very beautiful.85 In an interview in Der digitally created strip paintings and the flowing paint Spiegel, Richter remarks: “For me, beauty has always material, yet, on the other hand, also hermetically seals been a factor in determining the quality of a work of them off. The subjective element is inherent in these art, regardless of its form or the era in which it was work series to differing degrees. It is left to viewers to conceived . . . This means it can’t be separated from expose themselves to this fascination, to see the calcu- form, without which nothing can be created. And the lated and the emphatic, the rational and the irrational, most important aspect, as far as I’m concerned, is that the ordered and the contingent, and to fully compre- it is only form that makes it possible to understand hend the pictorial possibilities that are embodied in things and thus build a society.”86 these work series. The glass pane paintings were executed in various Is Richter concerned primarily with evoking beguil- groups. Ninety-eight small works, arranged into dip- ingly varied and seductively beautiful forms and colors? tychs, were produced in 2008, exhibited under the title Do the Patterns, the Strip paintings, and the enamel 87 Fig. 161 Sinbad, and published in an artist’s book. They were paintings on glass amount to nothing more than their Gerhard Richter, “Flow” [Flow], followed in 2010 by series such as Baghdad (pls. 249, connections to Op Art and Art Informel? At least in 2013 250), Ifrit, and Perizade. Next came the group with the the case of Patterns and Strip paintings, the divisions, Lacquer on glass title Abdallah, consisting of one hundred works.88 The mirrorings, and resulting symmetries are based on CR 933/2, 100 x 200 cm titles are allusions to the world of Middle Eastern fairy mathematical structures, and allude to natural scientific Private collection, New York tales and legends of the kind passed down from The rather than artistic procedures. Marcus de Sautoy assumes that the human mind searches incessantly for patterns, and is therefore obsessed with symmetry. “Pattern is [hence] synonymous with meaning.”90 In his works, Richter is not in search of the seventeen possible plane symmetry groups. In his new works, too, he aims at vision and visibility, and at their transfer, or the question how optical phenomena become carriers of perceptions. In 1971, he wrote the following note on this dilemma: “that our sense of sight causes us to apprehend things, but at the same time restricts and partly precludes our apprehension of reality.”91 One year later, he said: “I don’t mistrust reality, of which I know next to nothing. I mistrust the picture of reality conveyed to us by our senses which is imperfect, limited.”92 And in 1981: “Painting is the making of an anal- ogy for something non-visual and intelligible—giving it form and bringing it within reach. And that is why good paintings are also incomprehensible.”93

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Surely, the agnosticism that is revealed in these data, which must be modeled and made visible. It is statements must be relativized and placed within a therefore not a question of which model is most realis- larger context. Martin Kemp, to whom we owe a pro- tic, but instead of which model corresponds more found and exceptionally illuminating investigation of closely to specific questions and intentions.95 That visuality, has demonstrated a continuity from the Richter is receptive to such questions is strikingly illus- Renaissance to the present time, so conditioned by the trated by the four large pictures entitled Silicate new communications technologies, by pluralism and (pls. 217–220). The Patterns and the Strip paintings processuality. In the process, he refers to the compli- belong in this context, except that with them, he does cated relationships that exist between the bewildering not create physical pictures generated from data pro- multiplicity of visual stimuli, the conditions of vision, duced by electron microscopes, but instead proceeds and the neurophysiological foundations of sensory in the opposite way. In them, he traces a path not from experience. These reflections also encompass the the inconceivable to the conceivable, but instead from capacity for memory and the areas of experience, large paintings via a continuous process of division and knowledge, and interest. The parameters of the pro- mirroring toward tiny details whose origins are no lon- cess through which we determine what something ger perceptible. In science, but also in art, visual intu- looks like are structured by multifarious interconnec- ition is one of the most powerful tools we have for tions. After a detailed explanation of historical changes feeling our way into the unknown once knowledge has in perception, Kemp arrives at the following conclusion ended.96 If patterns actually make sense, then Richter with regard to the present day: “The more I think obviously moves in this sphere with the Patterns and about the process of seeing and its inherent results, the the Strip paintings, taking up the questions that have more awesome seems the dialog that we conduct preoccupied him repeatedly. What is reality, and how between external complexity of almost infinite variety do we perceive it? It is not reality he distrusts, but the and the pull of our perceptual system toward simple picture we make of it. “Artworks become appearances, patterns of coherence at every conceivable scale.”94 In in the concise sense of the term—that is as the appear- particular in the area of microstructures, it becomes ance of another—when the accent falls on the unreality problematic to speak of “visibility,” because there, the of their own reality.”97 Despite the enormous differ- emitted waves lie entirely outside of what our percep- ences between them, the various work series confirm tual capacities can ascertain. In the molecular area, a the continuity of a creative oeuvre that is characterized translation into visibility requires a specific collection of by its consistently high quality.

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232 2/8/92 Cologne Cathedral, 1992 [8.2.92 Kölner Dom] Black and white lacquer on photograph CR 08.02.1992, 10.9 x 14.8 cm Private collection, Cologne

233 8/14/94, 1994 [14.8.94], Oil on photograph CR 14.08.1994, 9.9 x 14.9 cm Private collection, Tokyo 424 overpainted photographs, books, and pictures

234 Nov. 9, 1999, 1999 [9. Nov. 1999] Oil on photograph CR 09.11.1999, 10.1 x 15 cm Kiyoshi Wako, Tokyo

235 2/12/1998, 1998 [12.2.1998], Oil on photograph CR 12.02.1998, 10.1 x 14.7 cm Private collection 425 chapter 14

236 Firenze, 2000 [Firenze] Oil paint on photograph, Copy 13/99 12 x 12 cm (framed 32.2 x 32.2 cm) Edition 110 Private collection 426 overpainted photographs, books, and pictures

237 Nov. 22, 1999 (Firenze), 1999 [22. Nov. 1999 (Firenze)] Oil on photograph CR 22.11.1999, 11.9 x 11.9 cm Noburo and Eiko Wako, Tokyo 427 chapter 14

238 6/20/08, 2008 [20.6.08] Lacquer on color photograph CR 20.06.2008, 10 x 14.8 cm Private collection 428 overpainted photographs, books, and pictures

239 From: Gerhard Richter, War Cut, Cologne 2004, p.72 429 chapter 14

240 Iblan, 2009 [Iblan] Woven Jacquard wall tapestry, 276 x 378 cm Edition 143 (8 copies + 2 artist’s proofs) 430 overpainted photographs, books, and pictures

241 Abdu, 2009 [Abdu] Woven Jacquard wall tapestry, 276 x 378 cm Edition 144 (8 copies + 2 artist’s proofs) 431 chapter 14

242 242–246 Pattern 16/16 Details from: Gerhard Richter, Patterns, Cologne 2011 Detail of the 16th (extreme right) vertical strip of CR 724/4 (divided 16 times), mirrored 16 times, Reproduction of Abstract Painting [Abstraktes Bild] and repeated from 1990 (CR 724/4, 92 x 126 cm, fig. 160) was pro- gressively divided into vertical strips, that is, into 243 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 . . . 4,096 parts or strips. The final Pattern 14/32 division accordingly creates vertical strips of only Detail of the 14th vertical strip of CR 724/4 about 0.003 cm thickness. The strips were then again (vertically divided 32 times), mirrored 32 times, mirrored x times and repeated to become a pattern. and repeated 432 overpainted photographs, books, and pictures

244 Pattern 18/64 Detail of the 18th vertical strips of CR 724/4 (vertically divided 64 times), mirrored 64 times, and repeated

245 Pattern 76/256 Detail of the 76th vertical strip of CR 724/4 (vertically divided 256 times), mirrored 256 times, and repeated 433 chapter 14

246 Pattern 1,024/4,096 Detail of the 1,024th vertical strip of CR 724/4 (vertically divided 4,096 times), mirrored 4,096 times, and repeated 434 overpainted photographs, books, and pictures

247 Strip, 2011 [Strip] Digital print mounted between aluminum and perspex CR 919/1, 200 x 200 cm Private collection, New York 435 chapter 14

436 overpainted photographs, books, and pictures

248 Strip, 2012 [Strip] Digital print mounted between aluminum and perspex CR 926/2, 120 x 300 cm Private collection 437 chapter 14

249 Baghdad, 2010 Bagdad, 2010 Lacquer on glass mounted on Alu Dibond CR 914/1, 50 x 40 cm Kunstmuseum Winterthur Loan from private collection 438 overpainted photographs, books, and pictures

250 Baghdad, 2010 [Bagdad] Lacquer on glass mounted on Alu Dibond CR 914/23, 60 x 60 cm Kunstmuseum Winterthur Loan from private collection 439 chapter 14

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251 Flow, 2013 [Flow] Lacquer on glass, mounted on Alu Dibond CR 933/3, 100 x 200 cm Private collection 441 Fig. 162 Gerhard Richter in front of the paintings “Strip” [Strip] (CR 927/7), 2012, and “Strip” [Strip] (CR 930/1), 2013 Photograph: Norbert Arns reverse: idea-less actions and reactions which lead toward forms which can be named and explained—and only then give rise to ideas.3 The connection between content and form, between motif and composition, which remained valid until Cubism, is thereby dissolved, so that reaction now takes the place of representation. This means that Richter enters a highly uncertain sphere of impenetrability, one that necessar- concluding remarks ily remains opaque even to him, where all conventional criteria of evaluation and judgments of quality have lost their validity, without however being replaced by Having completed this survey of Richter’s pictorial new parameters and corresponding standards. When, world with its diverse genres and themes, producing a in his statements, Richter repeatedly invokes traditions, summary represents a challenge. The apparent differ- toward which he feels indebted, then this may conceiv- ences between the individual series are, apparently, too ably serve to conceal profound insecurity manifesting a vast; the paintings after photographs too disparate in quest for stability, confirmation, and self-assurance. relation to the color charts; too little links the mirrors This becomes comprehensible through statements by with the landscapes. Alongside the abstractions, the still Richter himself. lifes and portraits seem too inconsistent—to say noth- In his numerous interviews, Richter has repeatedly ing of the discrepancy between traditional picture for- discussed his work, and has made these texts widely mats and installations. On the one hand, Richter is available by compiling them in a volume that bears the repeatedly preoccupied with reality; on the other, he lapidary title Text. His testimony is not to be under- depicts this reality so indistinctly and ambiguously that stood primarily as an explication or even interpretation it seems to elude the viewer, to slip through his fingers. of his own compositions (remarks on individual sub- If Modernism shifted from semantics to semiotics, jects of the kind that Richter provided for the catalog from the depictive function of the sign to the self- entries to his exhibition in the Tate Gallery in London referentiality of the sign itself, from the illusion of the in 1991–92 are the exception to the rule).4 They usually represented motif to the visualization of facture, then have a more general character, at times fulfilling strate- Richter distances himself in his production from a gic functions and revealing the intentions he pursues Modernism that strives to extinguish semblance in through his painting, along with the expectations he order to allow real objects to emerge in its place. associates with art in general. It seems instructive to Typically, the readymade and the collage—the two observe the way in which a profound fatalism is mani- foundation stones of the classical avant-garde—play fest, in his Notes from around 1982 onward and not highly divergent roles in his oeuvre. While the ready- explicitly related to his paintings, whether he is excori- made preoccupies him primarily in theoretical terms as ating the dominant art scene, criticizing the art acade- a strategic model (and hence never appears in his artis- mies and their professors, arguing about morality and tic praxis in the form of real objects), he rejects collage hypocrisy, discussing the world situation, which he per- as too simple and superficial.1 A constant source of fas- ceives as catastrophic, alluding in the process to climate cination for him, instead, is the materiality of the paint change, war, famine, and epidemics, referencing biolo- and its possibilities of application and presentation. gism when discussing the meaning of life (perhaps a This focus may explain why drawing plays such a subor- sign of the lingering impact of having read Nietzsche dinate role in his overall oeuvre. To an astonishing when he was younger), or reflecting on conformism degree, this basic disposition has allowed him to and non-conformism. He laments the impossibility of achieve an enormous expansion of his pictorial strate- preventing catastrophes, and vents his feelings con- gies, based on pre-existing subjects (for the most part cerning communism and the relationship between mediated by photographs—which is to say through belief and ideology. Essentially, all theory is negative, readymades in their broadest sense), and through a and life is perceived as nonsensical, useless, futile, and facture that varies between construction and destruc- superfluous, the pursuit of reason is deemed lunacy, tion. Striking, nonetheless, is his commitment to a efforts to procure legitimation are said to be “nothing painterly tradition that extends, in some works, back but flimsy attempts to bend and block the truth.”5 This beyond the nineteenth century, all the way to the pessimism culminates in a kind of vulgar materialistic Renaissance. At the same time, Richter is aware that a view according to which freedom and free will simply revision of modernity, a link to Premodernism, is do not exist. In an interview with Hans-Ulrich Obrist in impossible.2 Nonetheless, he refers in some works to 1993, he claims that “the important thing for me is that Titian, Vermeer, Caspar David Friedrich, and other art- this kind of fatalism or negativism and pessimism is a ists. His landscapes, portraits, and still lifes follow the useful strategy in life; there is a highly positive side to it, corresponding genre conventions only to a certain because one has fewer illusions.”6 degree, however; not only does the suggestive charac- Considering Richter’s career as an artist, it is tempt- ter of thematic illusions and stylistic rapprochements ing to agree. Doubts about the world and about one- become evident, but the artist himself as a subject self may have been a good prerequisite for working appears in such works only indirectly, as someone who twice as hard rather than succumbing to vanity. Richter assumes a particular role. And although some of these realized early on that it was not only knowledge and works, among them Ema (Nude on a Staircase), Betty, skill that were decisive, but moreover standards which October 18, 1977, and Reader, along with a number of he could subscribe to. It is hardly surprising that the landscapes and still lifes, have contributed decisively to concept of tradition surfaces quite early in his Notes, Richter’s renown, there can be little doubt that the for example in around 1964: “In every respect, my center of gravity within his oeuvre as a whole lies with work has more to do with traditional art than with any- the abstractions, which work through the semblance of thing else.”7 Especially from the 1990s onward, he painting with equal intensity, and accordingly, revoke returned to this idea in ever-new variations. On the material presence of these works. In such instances, December 30, 1992, he wrote “What counts is the it is not ideas which lead toward images, but the world of the mind, and of art, in which we grow up.

443 concluding remarks

Over the decades, this remains our home and our “Art is the highest form of hope.”24 It is a sentiment he world.”8 One year later, he avowed: “I’m increasingly in would repeat several times in subsequent years.25 favor of the official, the classic, the universal.”9 Similar Despite the political, social, and cultural miseries and statements could be added to these.10 In 2002, for deficits described by Richter in his Notes from the example, he said to Robert Storr: “The classical is what 1980s, he nonetheless regards art as “loftiest yearning holds me together. It is that which gives me form. It is for Truth and Happiness and Life . . . this is truly the the order that I do not have to attack. It is something most perfect form of our humanity.”26 In 1986, Richter that tames my chaos or holds it together so that I can took a further and decisive step, linking the concept of continue to exist. That was never a question for me. hope with that of utopia. Now, art is understood as the That is essential for life.”11 And in 2006, the “cultural possibility of “thinking things out differently, and of heritage” was just as important to him as a desire to apprehending the intrinsic inaccessibility of phenome- approach the “mysterious, lasting quality” and the nal reality; that art is an instrument, a method of get- “timelessness” he found embodied in the oeuvres of ting at that which is closed and inaccessible to us (the Titian, Velázquez, Dürer, and Corinth.12 In 2011, he banal future, just as much as the intrinsically unknow- remarked to Nicholas Serota: “The classical was always able); that art has a formative and therapeutic, consola- my ideal, from my childhood onward, and some of it tory and informative, investigative, and speculative has endured until today.”13 function; it is thus not only existential pleasure but Gerhard Richter’s reflections on painting have pro- Utopia.”27 Apparently, Richter does further not pursue vided him with access to historical possibilities. That he these ideas—in which utopia is comprehended in the is oriented toward the classical as well as toward the usual sense as a counterimage (qua negation) of exist- romantic is owed to the insight that although such tra- ing reality—and for very good reason, since the more ditions are obsolete, they nonetheless remain indis- emphatically a utopian moment is demanded of art, pensable for him. the more existing reality seems to thwart every utopia. A similar role is played in Richter’s statements by the According to Adorno, art must therefore avoid betray- concept of beauty. In 1970, when asked by Rolf-Gunter ing utopia by providing semblance and consolation. Dienst why a colorful landscape appealed so much to “If the utopia of art were fulfilled, it would be art’s him, he replied: “Just because landscape is beautiful. temporal end.”28 It’s probably the most terrific thing there is.”14 In an Rather than concentrating on utopia, Richter focuses interview in 1973 about beauty, he remarked that “it on hope, which he links in a number of remarks to the still has just as much of an impact.”15 In 1980, in a letter demand for enlightenment. On July 23, 1989, he stated: to Birgit Pelzer, he mentions his Details, which “when “However ineptly—desperately ineptly—I set about it, enlarged as a painting, take on an abstract appearance my will, my endeavor, my effort—what drives me—is of indeterminate ‘beauty.’”16 And although the term is the quest for enlightenment (apprehension of ‘truth,’ used with a certain reserve, as indicated by the quota- and of the interconnections; coming closer to a mean- tion marks, this does not call the core of his statement ing; so all my pessimistic, nihilistic actions and asser- into question. In 1985, he perceived his landscapes as tions have the sole aim of creating or discovering having “such a conventional beauty, a classical beauty, hope).”29 Elsewhere, he links hope with the message which I love very much as well.”17 In notes from 1986, “that life can be beautiful.”30 As chief witnesses for his he differentiated. The beautiful, nostalgic landscapes point of view Richter invokes Friedrich Nietzsche and are said to be “hypocritical,” because they do not show Arthur Schopenhauer, and finds himself strengthened the absolute mindlessness and inhumanity of nature, in his belief that “art is the only thing that keeps us but instead only our own projections.18 Richter discov- going at all and that gives, if not meaning, then at least ers beauty even in his own gray paintings and in the a little hope to existence.”31 works of Beuys.19 In 2002, in his Notes he wrote that to If Richter repeatedly refers to tradition, the classical, him, beauty is embodied in particular in his paintings of beauty, understanding his oeuvre as a part of art his- women: Ema (Nude on a Staircase), Betty, and Reader are tory, striving to evoke not just hope, but a utopian idealized images, while Reader represents an elevation moment as well, and finally, attempting to express the in homage of “Vermeer, the God of painting,” whom beauty of life, then it should be borne in mind that he had tried to emulate in terms of the beauty of his most of the statements date from the 1990s and later— paintings.20 Finally, the term is used by Richter in order in other words, from a time when Richter was regarded to give his sense of alienation from the contemporary on both sides of the Atlantic as one of the most import- art scene and from modern developments in general, a ant artists of the late twentieth and early twenty- polemical edge, at the same time underscoring his first century. This phase was also marked by his major “wish to paint paintings as beautiful as those by Caspar public commissions: Black, Red, Gold for the Berlin David Friedrich.”21 The term beauty here is not related Reichstag, and the large, multicolored window for the in the Kantian sense22 to the “freedom of the imagina- southern transept of Cologne Cathedral. This may have tion (and our power of sensibility),” to the “perception had an impact on his self-image and his self-assess- that is reflected upon directly,” nor to disinterest. ment. The difficult early years, the financially lean peri- Instead, beauty is evidently the pleasure that is derived ods, and, in particular the long struggle for recognition from the activity of one’s own mind, since it is precisely now lay in the past. the degree of indeterminacy of form, the playful, the This also forms the background for a statement from ephemeral, which determines the experience of the 1993: “The image of the artist as a misunderstood fig- beautiful for Richter. For him, the beautiful is embod- ure is abhorrent to me. I much prefer the high times, as ied above all in the fleeting, the transitory. Since view- in the Renaissance or in Egypt, where art was part of ers are also transient, they encounter the beauty in his the social order and was needed in the present. The works, to quote Gernot Böhme, as the appearance of suffering, unappreciated Van Gogh is not my ideal.”32 phenomena which “secure our existence. The beautiful In 2002, he commented retrospectively on his paint- is what conveys the happiness of being there.”23 ings on October 18, 1977, again expressing criticism of From 1982, tradition and beauty are joined by hope ideology in general, and expressing a profound distrust in Richter’s statements. His contribution for the docu- of “the leftist faith” and the “self-righteous arrogance menta 7 catalog in 1982, culminates in the declaration: of many artists and intellectuals.”33 The status he envi-

444 concluding remarks

sions for himself is revealed by the following state- throughout my life, as well as with the insight, which ment: “I never wanted to be a misunderstood artist, an has grown throughout my life, into the superiority of outsider, a bogeyman. Never. Even fifty years ago I Christian teaching, which is so much more intelligent found the thought satisfying that, whenever culture than all of these ideologies that promise paradise on blossomed, artists tended to be part of the establish- earth. For me, another connection with the church is ment rather than freaks; that their status as highly qual- the capacity for faith, by which I mean that for me, our ified masters made them part of the elite. We still capacity to believe is a trait that is every bit as impera- benefit from that today.”34 In this context, Richter is tive as eating and drinking, no matter how badly or well aware of the fact that Fluxus opposed established how well, we always believe.”45 conceptions of art, and indirectly, the social and politi- When Richter’s various statements on tradition, cal establishment as well, and he himself was shaped in beauty, hope, and utopia, on the social status of the lasting ways by this radical defiance and anarchism. He artist, and on Catholicism are considered as a whole, it shared, he says, this irreverent attitude, and just did becomes evident which task he assigns to art. It is by no something new, something which had been forbidden, means a question of pointing up an alternative to the and which intellectuals could not share in because of status quo, of transcending the existent, or perhaps of their criteria. “The anti-authoritarian aspect was always anticipating a better world, nor of assigning art with part of me, even if it was never obvious.”35 the function of relieving the stress of everyday life. It is In conversation with Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, who not a question of “rescuing the eye from gazing into represents a completely different political orientation, the horrors of night and releasing the subject, with the Richter affirms an increasingly conservative position: healing balm of illusion, from the convulsive stirrings of “For me, it has always been the case, the only possible the will,” as Nietzsche expressed it.46 After the turn of case, that art is inseparable from power relations, and the millennium, such notions are foreign to Richter, that both mutually influence and enable each other. whereas he is quite aware of the fact that only when it And exactly this was the Utopia and great fallacy of the is autonomous can art formulate a contraposition in 1960s, when we thought that we could dismantle all relation to society, and that its resilience, then, results that.”36 Viewed historically, what Richter envisions here primarily from it being functionless. It is hardly aston- as an ideal was the exception to the rule. In antiquity, ishing, therefore, that he perceives the task of art not artists as a rule occupied an inferior social position, at just as enlightenment, but also as reconciliation with the level of craftsmen, and could rarely claim special the world.47 During a period that is dominated by hate, distinction by virtue of their techne. Surfacing in the terrorism, populism, racism, and political regression, Renaissance to an increasing degree were cultural this constitutes a statement that should not be under- heroes of the type described by Vasari in his Lives, for valued, and one that, in the context of interviews with example, and at the absolutist courts of the sixteenth Buchloh, assumes the character of a polemical delimi- and seventeenth centuries, artists received titles of tation in relation to his interlocutor rather than as a nobility and were elevated to superior status,37 promi- clarification of his own intentions. nent instances being Velázquez, invested with high What impels Richter instead is solely and exclusively offices, and Rubens, entrusted with diplomatic mis- “the aesthetic accomplishment of art.”48 When he sions. The myth of the artist that proliferated in the speaks, then, of reconciliation, he presumably means eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, in contrast, not a “reconciliation with the world,” and instead, the involved instead the pathologies and social isolation self-referential reconciliation of art with itself, which is experienced by the genii—notions which continue to to say with its own success.49 And for Richter, this resonate into the present. The image of the artist sanc- achievement is not found primarily in forms of antici- tioned by the state, which Richter evidently has in patory reaction or determined by its contents, but mind, appears to be an unconscious reminiscence of instead by the form, which is embodied in his oeuvre what he must have experienced in East Germany. emphatically in techniques or their purposefulness. Against this background, it hardly seems surprising “What transcends the factual in the artwork, its spiri- that for Richter, art appears increasingly as the “pure tual content, cannot be pinned down to what is indi- realization of religious feeling, capacity for faith, long- vidually, sensually given but is, rather, constituted by ing for God.”38 A few years later, he stated: “Belief . . . is way of this empirical givenness . . . The spiritual content thus our most important quality and capacity.”39 In does not hover above the work’s facture; rather, art- 2001, in an interview with Der Spiegel he explained: “I works transcend their factuality through their facture, sympathize with Catholicism, without being a Catholic through the consistency of their elaboration.”50 This myself.”40 In 2002, he talked to his daughter Babette remark by Adorno perhaps expresses what it is that about, among other things, a multiple, a small steel Richter’s thinking revolves around in such diverse ways, cross he had produced in a large quantity in 1997,41 and namely the center of his conception of the appearance which must have had a subliminally polemical character of reality, as he repeatedly attempts to depict it in his for Richter.42 In relation to the church, he wanted to paintings, situated between mimesis and performance. take a bow toward and to express his appreciation for From the very beginning, Richter is less interested the history of Christian culture. “That’s my home, in reality itself than in presenting its appearance. “I those are my roots, it’s a tradition I have the highest never wanted to capture and hold reality in a paint- regard for and which is far more complex than its crit- ing . . . That was never my intention. But I wanted to ics could ever fathom.”43 Slightly later, he again pro- paint the appearance of reality. That is my theme or claimed his affinity for Catholicism. To be sure, he was my job,” he said in 2002 to Robert Storr.51 unable to believe in God, but found the Catholic No matter what the pictures represent, regardless of Church to be marvelous because it provided support, which formal principles form their basis, they first and consolation, and a sense of security.44 And in 2008, he foremost embody an illusion that can be defined as said to Hans Ulrich Obrist: “Everything the Catholic “appearance.” In 1977, in response to the question of Church represents and does, everything it demands whether the abstract paintings were to be understood and offers, is as familiar to me, and as valued, as never as a renunciation of illusionistic modes of representa- before. This has to do first of all with Christian culture, tion, Richter replied: “Not really. If I forget about the with all of the marvelous works that have sustained me negative connotations that the term has, what I have

445 concluding remarks

left is an illusionism that is inseparably bound up with with the opposition between revelation and conceal- painting—or even identical with it. Painting as appear- ment. The presence and impermanence of appearance, ance—this has nothing to do with the ‘world of appear- transparency and vanishing comprehensibility, can be ances’ and ideas like that . . .”52 And in 1989, he added, understood as leitmotifs for pictorial intentions which so to speak taking up the thread again: “Illusion—or permeate the work and give form to a discourse that rather appearance, semblance—is the theme of my life. unleashes a “reflexive potentiation of beautiful appear- . . . All that is, seems, and is visible to us because we ance” through ever-new approaches. perceive it by the reflected light of semblance. Nothing else is visible. Painting concerns itself, as no other art Perhaps the essential trait of Richter’s artistic oeuvre, does, exclusively with semblance . . .”53 Of course, which now extends to more than six decades, could be Richter is cautious about speaking of the sensory sem- identified as a gradual increase of self-referentiality of blance of the idea in the Hegelian sense, since precisely subjects and techniques, of strategies and forms, which what seems can neither be named, nor recognized, nor is to say, a tendency toward self-referentiality and rendered immediately. His works are hence meant to immanence, one that increasingly breaks down inher- be taken entirely for themselves, and provide no per- ent contradictions and friction coefficients, without, spective on the truth of actual states of affairs. In a nev- however, suffering an accompanying loss of quality. er-ending movement that is oriented toward the Adorno has characterized the potential consequences registration of the seen, the reflexive activity generates of such an approach: “Works are usually critical in the an instinctive, oblivious performance, one that never era in which they appear; later they are neutralized, not arrives at certainty, since it relates only to sensory least because of changed social relations. Neutral experience, under the spell of the picture.54 It is the ization is the social price of aesthetic autonomy. ungraspable aesthetic phenomena, supported by noth- However, once artworks are entombed in the pan- ing, which thought is invited to master, but which is, theon of cultural commodities, they themselves—their nonetheless, forsaken. Inherent in these paintings is truth content—are also damaged.”60 Adorno’s Aesthetic something which desires to be and is capable of being Theory appeared just at the moment when Richter was comprehended, but which ultimately escapes any in the process of establishing the preconditions of his exclusively rational specification. It is, however, not a enormous international significance, embarking on a question of a mere illusory expectation, which reveals path that strengthened his connections with tradition that that which is presumed to be present is not rather than dismantling them. It is impossible to antici- detectable anywhere. Instead, something is present pate today whether Adorno’s forecast will ultimately that is very different from what the anticipation of prove accurate, and, if so, in which way. It remains to understanding assumes.55 Aesthetic perception, one be seen how Richter’s oeuvre will further develop, and might conclude with Martin Seel, cannot be captured whether new and different aims are likely to guide it, through propositional determinateness. “It may lead to rendering superfluous speculations concerning the sur- conceptually determined knowledge or take the latter vival of his work in a future past and within the pan- as its starting point, but it is not conceptual knowledge, theon of our cultural heritage. since it remains tied to the sensuous and signifying occurrence and thus to the specific appearing of artistic objects. All art perception proceeds from an appearing and is in search of an appearing.”56 The structures of Richter’s abstract pictures, for example, do not refer to psychological categories or otherwise transcending realities. Instead, they generate “the imaginative experience of a reality which is essentially unrepresentable, and which exists for the beholder only as appearance.”57 And herein lies the real problem for reception. What appears in the work of art is ultimately concealed from aesthetic experience. Seen in this way, the truth of the work of art, which comes to appearance as a kind of flash in the moment of aesthetic experience, is at the same time utterly ungraspable as something concrete and present.58 Richter reflects upon the incomprehensibility of the work of art and the interminability of aesthetic experience with great immediacy, and both aspects are condensed in the heteronomy of styles and subjects. Accordingly, painting not only embodies irresolvable contradictions, but also constitutes a continuous process. “Painting is engaged in acquiring, working out, adumbrating a future for itself. It’s a future that has yet to arrive anywhere else: but in the picture it’s cele- brated in advance, as it were.” After everything that has been observable up to this point, this sounds rather optimistic. Richter immediately qualifies himself, identi- fying this statement as a wish: “If that were to work, yes, that would be good.”59 Shaping Richter’s creative production is an oscilla- tion between traditional and avant-garde approaches, between impersonal procedures and personal motiva- tions, between construction and destruction, along

446 notes

introduction reprinted in: Douglas Crimp, On the Museum’s Ruins, Richter also rejected those run by Hans und Lea Cambridge (Mass.) and London 1993, pp.84 ff. Grundig—in 1930, they had been cofounders of 1 Gerhard Richter, Text. Writings, Interviews and Letters 19 Arthur C. Danto, “The End of Art,” in: The Death of ASSO, that is, the Association of revolutionary 1961–2007, eds. Dietmar Elger and Hans Ulrich Art, ed. Berel Lang, New York 1984..—Also belong- visual artists in Germany. In their works, they Obrist, London 2008 (referred to hereafter as ing into this context is Hans Belting’s essay “The embodied a critical realism, which until the mid- Richter, Text, 2009), p.175. End of the History of Art?” (Munich 1983) and 1950s received relatively cautious or skeptical 2 Richter, Text, 2008, p.439. Gianni Vattimo’s book La Fine della Modernita reviews, or was openly criticized by the GDR’s 3 Richter, Text, 2008, p.161. (Milan 1985). official art policy. 4 Richter, Text, 2008, p.417. 20 Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Pandora-Malerei. Vom 3 Cf. Jürgen Schreiber, Ein Maler aus Deutschland. 5 Pierre Bourdieu, Zur Soziologie der symbolischen Versagen der Abstraktion zur heroischen Travestie,” Gerhard Richter. Das Drama einer Familie, Munich Formen, Frankfurt 1974, p.101. in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Bonn 1993, vol. 2, p.76. and Zürich 2005, pp.206 ff. 6 Niklas Luhmann, Die Kunst der Gesellschaft, 21 Richter, Text, 2008, p.161. 4 Schreiber, ibid., p.225. Frankfurt 1995, p.395. 22 Richter, Text, 2008, p.354. 5 In 1995, Richter said to Dresdner Morgenpost: “It’s 7 Richter, Text, 2008, p.350. 23 Richter, Text, 2008, p.121. nonsense to treat this peace-joy-happiness ideal 8 Richter, Text, 2008, p.391. 24 Richter, Text, 2008, p.488. as a relic. Please just leave it painted over as it is.” 9 Cf. Gerhard Richter, Editionen 1965–2013, eds. 25 Robert Storr, “Forty Years of Painting,” in: exhib. Translation from “Gerhard Richter: A Life in Hubertus Butin, Stefan Gronert, Thomas Olbricht, cat. Gerhard Richter, Museum of Modern Art, Painting”, by Dietmar Elger, University of Ostfildern 2014, No. 93. Referred to hereafter as New York 2002, p.85. Chicago Press, 2009, p.18. Richter, Editionen 2014. 26 Richter, Text, 2008, p.367. 6 Gerhard Richter, “Über meine Arbeit im Deutschen 10 Gerhard Richter Painting is available on DVD from 27 Richter, Text, 2008, p.213. Hygienemuseum Dresden,” in: farbe und raum, zero one/film, good!movies and piffl medien. 28 Dieter Schwarz, “Zwei Landschaften von Gerhard No. 9, 1956, pp.9–10. Here cited after Elger, p.26. This was preceded by their half-hour feature on Richter,” in: Schwarz, Texte zu Werken im Kunstmuse- 7 Cf. on this Jeanne Anne Nugent, “From Hans Richter’s Cologne Cathedral window, published um Winterthur, Düsseldorf 2000, p.229. Sedlmayr to Mars and Back Again: New Problems as vol. 2 Schriften des Gerhard Richter Archiv 29 Florian Klinger, Theorie der Form. Gerhard Richter und in the Old History of Gerhard Richter’s Radical Dresden (DVD: zero one/film GmbH 2008). die Kunst des pragmatischen Zeitalters, Munich 2013, Reworking of Modern Art,” in: Gerhard Richter: 11 Klaus Honnef and Evelyn Weiss, “Malerei als pp.8, 136. Early Work, 1951–1972, eds. Christine Mehring, Thema der Malerei,” in: exhib. cat. documenta 6, 30 Klinger, ibid., p.184. Jeanne Anne Nugent, Jon L. Seydl, The J. Paul vol. 1, Kassel 1977, p.45. 31 Klinger, ibid., p.193. Getty Museum, Los Angeles 2010, pp.36 ff. 12 Richter, Text, 2008, p.103. 32 Richter, Text, 2008, p.160. 8 Cf. Willibald Sauerländer, “Ein fundamentalistischer 13 Cf. Klaus Honnef, “Schwierigkeiten beim Beschrei- 33 Richter, Text, 2008, p.139. Jeremias. Über Hans Sedlmayr,” in: Zeitschrift für ben der Realität. Richters Malerei zwischen Kunst 34 Richter, Text, 2008, p.393. Ideengeschichte, issue VII/3, fall 2013, pp.5 ff. und Gegenwart,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, 35 Michel Foucault, The Order of Things, 9 Cf. Martin Schieder, Im Blick der Anderen. Die Gegenverkehr e.V. Aachen 1969, n.p. A few years New York 1970, p.38. deutsch-französischen Kunstbeziehungen 1945–1959. later, Honnef modified his views, now regarding 36 Richter, Text, 2008, p.417. Berlin 2005 (Passagen, vol. 12), p.363. Richter’s examination of the application and inter- 37 Cf. Gottfried Boehm, “Das Zeigen der Bilder,” 10 Nugent, ibid., p.51. pretation possibilities of pictorial means as closely in: Zeigen. Die Rhetorik des Sichtbaren, ed. Gottfried 11 Cf. Dieter Schwarz, “Analogies on Behaviors and connected with the attempt to secure the autono- Boehm, Sebastian Egenhofer, and Christian Spies, the Possible. Drawings and Watercolors by Gerhard my of the image when faced with the visual force Munich 2010 (eikones, Nationaler Forschungs Richter,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, dessins et and self-worth of pictorial motifs into which, schwerpunkt Bildkritik an der Universität Basel), aquarelles / drawings & watercolors, Musée du despite all mediation (mediatedness), were hooked p.46. Louvre, Paris 2012, pp.10–11. remnants of external reality. Here the discourse 38 Theodor W. Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, eds. Gretel 12 Elger, p.28. Cf. Atlas, Nos. 212, 218–19, 221–258. was made visible on the ambiguity of the pictorial Adorno and Rolf Tiedemann, London, New York 13 Elger, p.29. inventory, of pictorial forms, and of handwritten 1997, p.107. Hereafter referred to as Adorno. 14 Gerhard Richter, “Auseinandersetzungen halfen peculiarities, which in turn coagulate into pictorial 39 Richter, Text, 2008, p.215. mir weiter,” in: Sonntag, April 20, 1958, p.12. This is forms. Cf. Klaus Honnef, Gerhard Richter, Reckling- 40 Richter, Text, 2008, p.417. a reader’s letter within the context of a debate on hausen 1976, p.36. the subject, “Does a public commission inhibit 14 Peter Bürger, Theorie der Avantgarde, Frankfurt 1974, 1. the early years creative freedom?,” published in Sonntag, the p.29. weekly magazine of the Deutscher Kulturbund. 15 Jürgen Habermas, Die Neue Unübersichtlichkeit. Kleine 1 The excursus following here is essentially based Here cited after Elger, p.30. Politische Schriften, Frankfurt 1985. on Dietmar Elger’s biography of Richter. 15 Friedrich Nietzsche, Menschliches, Allzumenschliches, 16 Cf. Peter Bürger, Das Verschwinden des Subjekts. Eine Cf. Dietmar Elger, Gerhard Richter, Maler, 2nd ed. in: Nietzsche, Werke in drei Bänden, ed. Karl Geschichte der Subjektivität von Montaigne bis Barthes, Cologne 2008. Hereafter referred to as Elger. Schlechta, Munich 1966, vol. 1, p.786. Frankfurt 1998. 2 Richter joined the wall painting class run by Heinz 16 Elger, pp.33–34 and fig. p.34. 17 Cf. Michel Foucault, The Order of Things: An Archaeolo- Lohmar, who had emigrated to Paris in 1933 and 17 In 1982, Richter still declared in an interview with gy of the Human Sciences, New York 1970, p.422. had artistically benefited from this. A committed Wolfgang Pehnt that, during his time in the GDR, 18 Douglas Crimp’s essay “The End of Painting” was communist, he returned to East Germany after Picasso was “a kind of demigod to me.” Cf. Richter, published in spring 1981 in October, No. 16; and the war. By joining his class, Elger says on p.21, Text, 2008, p.138.

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18 In his biographical notes from 1966, Richter noted: Munich 1986.—Pollock’s Number 32, which Richter so in the GDR. Paradoxically, this was because inhu- “Prior to 1960—Influenced by works of Beckmann had seen in 1959 at the documenta II in Kassel, came manity in the GDR generated humanity. Cf. Fritz J. and Picasso, works based on nature.” Cf. Richter, into the art collection in 1964. Raddatz, “Die verwaltete Angst oder Deutschland, Text, 2008, p.47. 41 Dirk Luckow, Joseph Beuys und die Amerikanische ein Plural,” in: Bestandsaufnahme. Eine deutsche Bilanz 19 Cf. Angela Schneider, “Picasso in uns selbst,” in: Anti Form-Kunst. Berlin 1996, pp.30 ff. 1962, ed. Hans Werner Richter, Munich, Vienna, exhib. cat. Deutschlandbilder. Kunst aus einem geteilten 42 Cf. Regina Wyrwoll, “Keine Experimente? Wie Basel 1962, p.128. Land, ed. Eckhart Gillen, Berlin 1997, pp.539 ff. Konzeptkunst und Minimal Art ins Rheinland 62 Cf. Alexander Mitscherlich, “Humanismus heute 20 Schneider, ibid., p.542. kamen,” in: Arsprototo, Das Magazin der Kulturstiftung in der Bundesrepublik,” in: Bestandsaufnahme, 21 Willi Sitte’s Massaker II (1959) is hardly compre der Länder, 4/2016, pp.20 ff.; Kunst und Leben! Der ibid., p.143. hensible without direct quotes from Picasso and Sammler Wolfgang Hahn und die 60er Jahre. Exhib. 63 Cf. Richter, Bilder einer Epoche, p.53. Guttuso. The subject is the retaliatory action by cat. Museum Ludwig, Cologne/Museum Moderner 64 Gerhard Richter, Comic Strip (1962), Schriften des German soldiers in the Czech town of Lidice after Kunst, Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna 2017–18. Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden, vol. 13, ed. the assassination of Heydrich, the governor of the 43 Cf. Alexander Mitscherlich, “Humanismus heute Dietmar Elger, Cologne 2014. German occupying forces in Bohemia and Moravia. in der Bundesrepublik,” in: Bestandsaufnahme. Eine 65 “Elbe (1/31)” (fig. 14), Cf. exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, In June 1942, almost all male inhabitants of the deutsche Bilanz 1962, ed. Hans Werner Richter, Dessins et Aquarelles/Drawings & Watercolors town were shot dead, and the women and children Munich, Vienna, Basel, pp.137–8. 1957/2008. Musée du Louvre, Paris 2012, fig.1 . taken to concentration camps. Despite the clearly 44 Magnum, special issue 1961, p.89. Here cited after 66 The headlines can be deciphered as: “Vor fernen, anti-fascist subject matter, the work caused great Klaus Schrenk, “Wie aus der Einbahnstraße eine fernen Zeiten lebten Männer, die …”; then, on p.2: indignation among the cultural functionaries of Schnellstraße wurde—Aufbrüche,” in: exhib. cat. “Die Entstehung eines Mannes (in 10 Phasen)”; the GDR. A partial overpainting was demanded, Aufbrüche, Manifeste, Manifestationen. Positionen in der p.5: “Einsamkeit”; p.7: “Die Erscheinung vieler which Sitte, however, did not do. His resistance bildenden Kunst zu Beginn der 60er Jahre in Berlin, Männer”; p.8: “z.B. Prüfung der Ansprechbarkeit”; demonstrated how the dogmatic strictness of Düsseldorf und München, Städtische Kunsthalle p.11: “Flucht”; and so on. socialist realism could be overcome. Düsseldorf, Cologne 1984, p.17. 67 Letter to Helmut and Erika Heinze, dated 22 Elger, p.39. 45 Letter to Wieland Förster dated May 6, 1961. Cf. December 11, 1961, in: Richter, Bilder einer Epoche, 23 Elger, p.41. “‘Es ist, wie es ist.’ Gerhard Richters Briefe an zwei p.48. 24 Letter to Heinz Lohmar, April 6, 1961. Cf. Richter, Künstlerfreunde.” With introduction by Dietmar 68 Letter to Helmut and Erika Heinze dated April 4, Text, 2008, p.13. Elger, in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter. Bilder einer 1962, ibid., p.34. 25 Werner Haftmann, Malerei im 20. Jahrhundert, Epoche, exh. cat. by Uwe M. Schneede, Bucerius 69 Cf. Ganz am Anfang / How it all began. Richter, Polke, Munich 1954, p.p 437–8. Kunst Forum, Hamburg 2011, Munich 2011, p.30. Lueg & Kuttner, Sediment, issue 7, 2004, p.66. 26 Cf. Susanne Leeb, “Abstraktion als internationale Hereafter referred to as: Richter, Bilder einer Epoche. 70 Letter to Wieland Förster dated October 14, 1962, Sprache,” in: exhib. cat. Kunst und Kalter Krieg. 46 Letter to Helmut and Erika Heinze, in: Richter, in: Richter, Bilder einer Epoche, p.53. Deutsche Positionen 1945–89, eds. Stephanie Barron Bilder einer Epoche, p.42. 71 Richter gifted one of his works to Franz Erhard and Sabine Eckmann, Cologne 2009, p.122. 47 “‘Es ist, wie es ist.’ Gerhard Richters Briefe an zwei Walther, who had initiated and recommended him 27 Abstrakte Kunst—Eine Weltsprache, eds. Georg Künstlerfreunde.” Mit einer Einleitung von Dietmar for the exhibition. One item of clothing he often Poensgen and Leopold Zahn, Baden-Baden 1958. Elger, in: Richter, Bilder einer Epoche, p.43. mentions (Ema’s blouse) was shown in the exhibi- Here cited after Leeb, ibid., p.119. 48 Postcard dated June 27 to Helmut and Erika tion The Irreverent Object at the New York Luhring 28 Some phrases were taken from Sylvain Lecombre’s Heinze, ibid., p.45. & Augustine gallery in December 2009. essay, “Vivre une peinture sans tradition.” 49 Letter to Helmut and Erika Heinze dated Decem- 72 Letter to Helmut and Erika Heinze dated March 10, Cf. exhib. cat. Paris / Paris (1937–1957), Paris, ber 11, 1961, ibid., p.47. 1963, in: Richter, Bilder einer Epoche, pp.54–5. Centre Georges Pompidou 1981, p.216. 50 Letter to Helmut and Erika Heinze dated Decem- 73 Cf. Niklas Luhmann, Die Kunst der Gesellschaft, 29 Sylvain Lecombre, ibid., p.220. ber 11, 1961, ibid., p.47. The highlights were made Frankfurt 1995, p.394. 30 Cf. Martin Schieder, Im Blick des Anderen. Die by Richter. 74 This is true, for example, of the painting Rheinhausen deutsch-französischen Kunstbeziehungen 1945–1959, 51 Cf. Jeanne Anne Nugent, “From Hans Sedlmayr to (70 x 110 cm) from 1962, which represents the Bern 2005 (Passagen, vol. 12), p.370. Mars and Back Again: New Problems in the Old industrial port and the brightly lit metallurgical 31 Werner Haftmann, Malerei im 20. Jahrhundert, History of Gerhard Richter’s Radical Reworking of huts. Compared with other works, which were also 3rd revised and extended edition, Munich Modern Art,” in: Gerhard Richter: Early Work, 1951– created in 1962 or after, the color of the night pic- 1962, p.604. 1972, eds. Christine Mehring, Jeanne Anne Nugent, ture in particular stands out. Cf. the detailed docu- 32 Interview with Benjamin H. D. Buchloh 1986. Jon L. Seydl., Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum mentation of the Bassenge (Berlin) auction house, Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.163. 2010, p.41. Hereafter referred to as: Richter, Early Auction 100, Lot 8345, dated December 1, 2012. 33 Interview with Jan Thorn-Prikker, 2004. Cf. Richter, Work. 75 Very revealing in this context are Jeanne Anne Text, 2008, p.469. 52 Letter to Helmut and Erika Heinze dated Decem- Nugent’s explorations, cf. her essay “From Hans 34 Especially worth reading here is: Karl Ruhrberg, ber 11, 1961, in: Richter, Bilder einer Epoche, p.47. Sedlmayr to Mars and Back Again: New Problems “Aufstand und Einverständnis: Düsseldorf in den 53 Cf. Richter, Bilder einer Epoche, fig. p.33. in the Old History of Gerhard Richter’s Reworking sechziger Jahren,” in: exhib. cat. Aufbrüche. 54 It is not clear to what extent Richter has reflected of Modern Art,” in: Richter, Early Work, pp.36 ff. Manifeste, Manifestationen. Positionen in der bildenden on the way in which Götz works. Richter’s subse- 76 Richter himself drew attention to this connection. Kunst zu Beginn der 60er Jahre in Berlin, Düsseldorf und quent use of the squeegee is probably not a suffi- Cf. Cossje van Bruggen, “Gerhard Richter, Painting München, ed. Klaus Schrenk, Städtische Kunsthalle cient indication of a direct connection. After all, as Moral Act,” in: Artforum, May 1985, p.85. Düsseldorf 1984, Cologne 1984, pp.86 ff. as early as the 1930s, Götz (under the influence 77 Ignazio Gardella’s Tavolo allungabile was created 35 Interview with Benjamin H. D. Buchloh (1986), of Surrealism) had been primarily concerned in 1954 and awarded the gold medal at the in: Richter, Text, 2008, p.164. with fixing form metamorphoses and structural XI Triennale di Milano. Reproduced in domus, 36 The architectural historian P. Reyner Banham, the processes in their kinetic sequence (Cf. K. O. Götz, No. 293, April 1954, p.76 and No. 329, August 1956, art historian and critic Lawrence Alloway, and the “Gemaltes Bild—Kinetisches Bild” [1959], in: pp.46 ff. Cf. L’architettura di Ignazio Gardella, a cura artist Richard Hamilton organized an exhibition, K. O. Götz, Dokumentation, ed. Manfred de la Motte, di Marco Porta, Milan 1985, No. 83, p.214. which was not considered the result of capitalist Bonn 1978, pp.152 ff.). 78 Cf. Gerhard Richter. Gegenverkehr, Aachen / decadence and one-dimensionality, but as some- 55 “Notizen 1964 (–1967),” in: Richter, Text, 2008, Zentrum für aktuelle Kunst, catalog 3/1969, thing funny and transgressing. Hamilton’s collage p.23. Elger suspects that the notes, which were first ed. Klaus Honnef, fig. 1. entitled What Is It That Makes Today’s Homes So published in 1993, had at least in part been written 79 Gerhard Richter and Sean Rainbird, (excerpts Different, So Appealing? from 1956 was an icon of later than 1964 and not before 1967. Cf. Richter, from a discussion), in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, pop culture—assembled kitsch or “ersatz culture,” Text, 2008, p.550. Tate Gallery, London 1991, p.125. thus provoking a society that was still largely 56 Elger, p.45. 80 At the presentation of the result of an art com defined by aristocratic tastes. 57 Letter to Wieland Förster dated April 25, 1961, in: petition in Wolfsburg, Rainer overpainted the 37 ZERO, No. 3, in: Zero, Cologne 1973, p.45. Richter, Bilder einer Epoche, p.51. exhibited graphic of the winner with black paint 38 Yves Klein, “Ma position dans le combat entre la 58 The question is whether “Moillot” was misspelled and affixed a piece of paper with the inscription ligne et la couleur” (April 16.,1958), ZERO, during transcription; possibly Maillol was meant. “overpainted by Arnulf Rainer” next to it. He was No. 1, p.8. 59 Letter to Wieland Förster dated October 14, 1962, arrested by the police, and some reports accused 39 Cf. exhib. cat. Beuys zu Ehren, ed. Armin Zweite, ibid., p.52. Rainer that he was using this action to draw atten- Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus München, 60 Letter to Helmut and Erika Heinze dated March 10, tion to the exhibition in November 1961 at Galerie Munich 1986, p.482. 1963, ibid., p.54. Seide in Hannover. 40 Werner Schmalenbach, Bilder des 20. Jahrhunderts. 61 Cf. Fritz J. Raddatz, who said in 1962 that, if a genu- 81 One may indeed ask oneself whether, in a guise of Die Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf. ine debate was still possible anywhere, then it was stylistic difference, the picture dramatically articu-

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lates the aesthetic parallels between socialism and Weg zur Kunstmetropole. Vom Happening zum Kunst- 114 Exhibitions in department stores and furniture capitalism in order to express the pictorial and markt, eds. Wulf Herzogenrath and Gabriele Lueg, stores were by no means unusual in the post-war ideological instability of the Cold War. Cf. John Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne 1986, pp.13 ff. period. Albert Schulze-Vellinghausen reported on J. Curley, “Gerhard Richter’s Cold War Vision,” 102 Note of 1964, Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.30. this in his introduction to the book Deutsche Kunst in: Richter, Early Work, pp.18–19. 103 Friedrich Wolfram Heubach, “Die Kunst der 60er nach Baumeister—Junger Westen. Corresponding 82 Cf. Julia Gelshorn, Aneignung und Wiederholung, Jahre. Anmerkungen in ent/täuschender Absicht,” information also in Hans Platschek, “Das Bild als Bilddiskurse im Werk von Gerhard Richter und Sigmar in: Die 60er Jahre. Kölns Weg zur Kunstmetropole. Vom Ware,” in: Bestandsaufnahme. Eine deutsche Bilanz Polke, Munich 2012, p.125. Happening zum Kunstmarkt, eds. Wulf Herzogenrath 1961, 36 Beiträge deutscher Wissenschaftler, 83 Robert Storr, Gerhard Richter. Forty Years of Painting. and Gabriele Lueg, Kölnischer Kunstverein, Schriftsteller und Publizisten, ed. Hans Werner Museum of Modern Art, New York 2002, p.29. Cologne 1986, p.113. Richter, Munich, Vienna, Basel 1962, p.550. 84 Cf. Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Richter’s Abstractions: 1 04 Richter, Text, 2008, p.169. 115 Cf. Susanne Küper, “Konrad Lueg und Gerhard Silences, Voids, and Evacuations,” in: exhib. cat. 105 Throughout his life, Richter has had a deep Richter: ‘Leben mit Pop—eine Demonstration für Gerhard Richter, Marian Goodman Gallery, New mistrust of utopian ideas and ideologies that mix den kapitalistischen Realismus,’” in: Wallraf- York 2005–2006, pp.11–12. art and politics. In this respect, he was also skeptical Richartz-Jahrbuch, vol. 53, Cologne 1992, pp.289– 85 Richter’s teacher at the Akademie in Düsseldorf of Beuys’ actions. Nor was he able to draw a lot 306. Cf. also “Ganz am Anfang/How it all began. described the genesis of the picture in detail. on the ideas of George Maciunas. He could only Richter, Polke, Lueg & Kuttner,” in: Sediment, Cf. Karl Otto Götz, Erinnerungen und Werk, vol. 1, reject the latter’s intention to abolish the arts, that issue 7, 2004. Düsseldorf 1983, p.912. is, music, theater, painting, and sculpture, and trans- 116 Richter, Text, 2008, p.18. 86 Eckhart Gillen, “Painter without Qualities,” in: fer them into the applied arts, such as industrial 117 Guido Meincke, Gerhard Richter. Zeitgenossenschaft, Richter, Early Work, p.73. design, engineering, typography, etc. As indicated, Munich 2013, p.48. 87 In 2010, Richter commented as follows: “I did not the ideas of the LEF group of 1929 boiled down 118 After all, it is remarkable that the charismatic but want to paint a report on a specific misfortune, to making all creative impulses subservient to social controversial Beuys appears here alongside an art but rather an example that says something general and constructive goals. Richter did not explicitly dealer and a president, but, in fact, not as a comic about the inexplicable and utterly nonsensical comment on this and understood Fluxus primarily cardboard figure, rather as an ensemble of authen- nature of death. Somewhat strange in the picture as a movement that conveyed a sense of freedom tic utensils that do not embody him, but visualize is the fact that I painted the feet as naive as a failed that motivated him to challenge the established him as something imaginary. retouching. I accepted that at the time, but a practices of the art world. At any rate, the artist 119 Richter, Text, 2008, p.19. Cf. also Hans Strelow, degree of uncertainty has remained until today.” was not at all interested in becoming politically “Leben mit Pop—Eine Demonstration für den Cf. Richter, Bilder einer Epoche, p.109. involved. Kapitalistischen Realismus von Konrad Lueg und 88 Cf. John J. Curley, “Gerhard Richter’s Cold War 1 06 Cf. Brigitte Jacob’s, “Dokumentation,” in: Ganz am Gerhard Richter, Düsseldorf 1963,” in: Die Kunst der Vision” in: Richter, Early Work, p.20, who believes Anfang/How it all began. Sediment, Heft 7, 2004, Ausstellung. Eine Dokumentation dreißig exemplarischer that the word can also be read as lote, the impera- pp.68–9. The documents are informative insofar Kunstausstellungen dieses Jahrhunderts, ed. Bernd Klüs- tive of loten (fathoming) or ausloten (comprehend- as the artists wanted to present themselves as er and Katharina Hegewisch. Frankfurt and Leipzig ing). Curley sees the picture as an indication of the “Gruppe 63” (which Richter apparently rejected) 1991, p.168. reciprocal relationship between photography and in order to integrate themselves into a Düsseldorf 120 Susanne Küper, “Gerhard Richter, der the Cold War (p.22), and formally as a superposi- genealogy. Ten years earlier, “Gruppe 53” had also kapitalistische Realismus und seine Malerei nach tion or penetration of figurative and abstract been founded by young artists, who were at the Fotografien von 1962–1966,” in: exhib. cat. painting (p.23). very beginning fo their careers. Many of them had Deutschlandbilder. Kunst aus einem geteilten Land, 89 Cf. his interview with Jan Thorn-Prikker in 2004: meanwhile advanced and were now established as ed. Eckhart Gillen, Berlin 1997, p.266. “And the painting needs to reflect the mystery, and, professors (Brüning, Gaul, Hoehme, Sackenheim, 121 Cf. Elger, p.86. if possible, amplify it. If I had only copied it as accu- and others). The reference indicated the claim of 122 Cf. Christine Mehring, “Die Kunst eines Wunders. rately as possible, it would have been very boring.” Richter, Lueg, Kuttner, and Polke, who were hoping Eine Geschichte des deutschen Pop 1955–72,” in: Richter, Text, 2008, p.475. for a similar success for their “Gruppe 63.” How Kunst und Kalter Krieg. Deutsche Positionen 1945–1989, 90 Cf. Roni Feinstein, Robert Rauschenberg: The Silkscreen ever, the letter to the city council also reveals that eds. Stephanie Barron and Sabine Eckmann. Paintings 1962–64, Whitney Museum of American they believed they could only succeed as a group Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nürnberg, Art, New York 1990, p.47. and that no one would stand a chance of getting Deutsches Historisches Museum Berlin, 91 Exhib. cat. Grauzonen—Farbwelten. Kunst und Zeitbilder a solo exhibition in a gallery. 2009–10, p.159. 1945–1955, ed. Bernhard Schulz. Neue Gesellschaft 107 Elger, p.71. 123 “Ich nenne mich als Maler Konrad Lueg,” exhib. cat., für bildende Kunst, Berlin 1986, p.164. 108 Richter, Text, 2008, p.16. ed. Thomas Kellein, Kunsthalle Bielefeld 1999, 92 Cf. Manfred de la Motte, Dokumente zum deutschen 109 Cf. Elger, p.73. Nos. 11–14. Informel. Bonn 1976, pp.179–80. 110 Cf. Günter Herzog, “Ganz am Anfang,” in: Ganz 124 Küper, ibid., p.267. 93 Manfred de la Motte, ibid., p.143. am Anfang/How it all began, Richter, Polke, Lueg 125 Wolfgang Weyrauch, “Bemerkungen des Heraus- 94 Cf. exhib. cat. Europop, eds. Tobia Bezzola and & Kuttner, Sediment, isue 7, 2004, pp.14–5. gebers,” in: Ich lebe in der Bundesrepublik. Fünfzehn Franziska Lentzsch, with contributions from Walter 111 Cf. Eckhart Gillen, “Maler ohne Eigenschaften. Deutsche über Deutschland, ed. Wolfgang Weyrauch, Grasskamp, John-Paul Stonard, Catherine Grenier. Gerhard Richters Weg aus der sozialistischen Munich 1960, p.8. Kunsthaus Zürich 2008. Gesellschaft in das westdeutsche Kunstsystem 126 Cf. David Joselit, “Die Malerei neu zusammen 95 Cf. Thomas Kellein, Der Traum von Fluxus. 1956–1966,” in: Grenzgänge zwischen Ost und West, setzen,” in: exhib. cat. Painting 2.0. Malerei im George Maciunas. Eine Künstlerbiographie, ed. Sigrid Hofer, Dresden 2012, p.47. Moreover, Informationszeitalter, eds. Manuela Ammer, Cologne 2007, p.91. Gillen stresses that there had been a number of Achim Hochdörfer, and David Joselit, 96 Cf. Peter Bürger, Theorie der Avantgarde, parallels that would have affected Richter’s artistic Museum Brandhorst, Bayerische Staatsgemälde Frankfurt 1974, pp.70 ff. decisions after his move to West Germany. For sammlungen, Munich and mumok—Museum 97 Cf. Stefan Germer, “Retrospective Ahead,” example, Socialist Rrealism pursued many goals to modernder Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna, in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Tate Gallery, which artists in the West also subscribed. In the 2015–16, pp.175–6. London 1991, p.24. East and in the West, Gillen said, it was about 127 Cf. Susanne Küper, “Konrad Lueg und Gerhard 98 Cf. Jörn Merkert, “Fluxus und Happening—oder: overcoming the separation of high art and applied Richter: ‘Leben mit Pop—Eine Demonstration gesellschaftliche Aufklärung durch künstlerische art, of political content and artistic intention. Here für den Kapitalistischen Realismus’,” in: Wallraf- Anarchie,” in: Zeitzeichen. Stationen bildender Kunst and there, artists freed themselves from serving the Richartz-Jahrbuch, vol. 8, 1992, p.298. in Nordrhein-Westfalen, ed. Karl Ruhrberg, viewer and his taste as well as from the necessity to 128 Cf. Allan Kaprow, “Happenings in the New York Cologne 1989, p.256. be original. Instead of reflecting a given reality, a Scene (1961),” in: Allen Kaprow, Essays on the 99 Cf. the documentation edited by Harald Szeemann new, better, and future-bound reality is projected. Blurring of Art and Life, ed. Jeff Kelley, Berkeley, on behalf of the Kölnischer Kunstverein on the (Ibid., pp.46–7.) Instead of repeating the East’s Los Angeles, London 1993, p.19. occasion of the eponymous exhibition happening propaganda art of Socialist Realism for the correct, 129 On other projects cf. Elger, 2008, pp.85–6. & fluxus, Cologne 1970. party-based life, for Richter, he said, had the insight 130 Cf. Christine Mehring, “Richter’s Collaborations, 100 Cf. Astrit Schmidt-Burckhardt, Maciunas’ Learning that it makes no sense to pursue ideas, intentions, Richter’s Turns, 1955–1971,” in: Richter, Early Work, Machines. From Art History to a Chronology of Fluxus. or interests, but to submit to the dictates of the especially pp.104 ff. Berlin 2003, pp.9–10; Thomas Kellein, Der Traum market and to produce and to be paid for this. 131 Cf. Stephan Strsembski, “Kapitalistischer von Fluxus. George Maciunas. Eine Künstlerbiographie, (Ibid., p.53). Realismus?,” in: Sediment, issue 7, 2004, p.51. Cologne 2007. pp.58–9. 112 Cf. Richter, Bilder einer Epoche, pp.56–7. 132 Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.23. 101 Cf. Wulf Herzogenrath, “Die Geburt der Kunst- 113 Cf. David Bourdon, Warhol, New York 1989, 133 Richter in 1982 in an interview with Wolfgang metropole Köln,” in: exhib. cat. Die 60er Jahre. Kölns pp.134 ff. Pehnt. Cf. Werner Krüger, Wolfgang Pehnt, Künstler

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im Gespräch. Documenta Dokumente, Cologne 1984, 167 Stefan Gronert, “Bild-(Re)Produktion. Zum Stellen- 182 Cf. Monika Jenni-Preihs, Gerhard Richter und die pp.129–30. wert der Fotografie im Werk von Gerhard Richter,” Geschichte Deutschlands. Vienna and Berlin 2013 134 Cf. Jürgen Harten, “Der romantische Wille zur in: Gerhard Richter, Editionen 1965–2004, eds. (Grazer Studien, ed. Johann Konrad-Eberlein, Abstraktion,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Bilder Hubertus Butin and Stefan Gronert, Ostfildern- vol. 13), pp.96 ff. 1962–1985, ed. Jürgen Harten, Cologne 1986, p.16. Ruit 2004, p.102. 183 Ingrid Misterek-Plagge, Kunst mit Fotografie und die 135 Harten, ibid., p.16. 168 Richter, Text, 2008, p.54. frühen Fotogemälde Gerhard Richters (Form & Interesse, 136 Richter in 1970 in an interview with Rolf-Gunter 169 Richter, Text 2008, p.22. Richter here evidently vol. 39), Münster and Hamburg 1992, pp.199 ff. Dienst, Cf. Richter, Text 2008, p.55. refers to a bon mot attributed to Max Liebermann, 184 Cf. Dietmar Rübel, “Die Fotografie (un)erträglich 137 Guido Meincke, Gerhard Richter, Zeitgenossenschaft, which, however, was: “The old saying that a good machen. Gerhard Richter gesehen mit W. G. Munich 2013, p.53. painting of a turnip is better than a poorly painted Sebald,” in: Sechs Vorträge über Gerhard Richter, 138 Here I am picking up on one of Hal Foster’s ideas, Madonna has become a permanent feature of eds. Dietmar Elger and Jürgen Müller, Cologne who brings the phenomenon of Nachträglichkeit modern aesthetics. But it is wrong; it should be: 2007 (Schriften des Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden, very plausibly on the concept of “deferred action.” A good painting of a turnip is just as good as a vol. 1), p.62. Cf. Hal Foster, The Return of the Real. MIT Press, well-painted Madonna.” Cf. “‘Een Anarchist is 185 The Russian historian and civil rights activist Cambridge (Mass.) and London 1996, pp.29–30. der Kerl doch!’ Anecdotes of Max Liebermann,” Irina Shcherbakova first came to Dresden in 1961, 139 Elger, p.87. researched and refreshed by Walter Püschel, and she remembers: “In the city center, only the 140 Cf. Dietmar Elger, “‘Es ist, wie es ist’. Gerhard Berlin 2007, p.75. Zwinger was left standing. All around it . . . was just Richters Briefe an zwei Künstlerfreunde.” With 170 Richter, Text, 2008, p.22. one big emptiness. I knew Dresden from an old an introduction by Dietmar Elger, in: exhib. cat. 171 Richter, Text, 2008, p.46. In a slightly later version book with many pictures that we had at home. Gerhard Richter. Bilder einer Epoche, Bucerius Kunst of this note, Richter uses the same terms, but in a What I now saw in reality left an incredible impres- Forum, Hamburg 2011, Munich 2011, p.34. different order, which amounts to a shift in focus: sion on me. Dresden for me became the very 141 Cf. Klaus Honnef, Bernd und Hilla Becher. Fotografien “I am fascinated by the human, temporal, real, logi- symbol of a destroyed city.” Cf. Irina Shcherbakova 1957–1975. Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn and cal side of an occurrence which is simultaneously so / Karl Schlögel, Der Russland-Reflex. Einsichten in eine Kunsthalle Tübingen 1975–1976, p.25. unreal, so incomprehensible and so atemporal. And Beziehungskrise, Hamburg 2015, p.24. 142 Walter Benjamin, Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner I would like to represent it in such a way that this 186 Theodor W. Adorno, “Was bedeutet: Aufarbeitung technischen Reproduzierbarkeit. Drei Studien zur Kunst- contradiction is preserved.” Richter, Text 2008, p.46. der Vergangenheit 1959,” in: Adorno, Erziehung zur soziologie, Frankfurt 1963, p.36. 172 Richter comments on the picture in this sense in Mündigkeit, ed. Gerd Kadelbach, Frankfurt 1971, p.11. 143 Rosalind E. Krauss, “Notes on the Index (1976– 1990. Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.247. 187 This is the conclusion reached by Dietmar Rübel, 1977).” In: The Originality of the Avant-Garde and 173 Richter, Text, 2008, p.261. ibid., p.64. Other Modernist Myths. The MIT Press, Cambridge 174 At least, this is what he said to Robert Storr in 188 Cf. Elger, p.99. (Mass.) and London 1985, p.199. 2002, Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.407. 189 Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.25. 144 Krauss, ibid., p.203. 175 Richter confirmed this in 2007. Cf. Götz Adriani, 190 Elger, p.120. 145 Krauss, ibid., p.205. “Von der ‘Lust, etwas Schönes zu malen,’” in: exhib. 191 August Haseke, a teacher who had studied for a 146 Krauss, ibid., p.211. cat. Gerhard Richter. Bilder aus privaten Sammlungen. few years at the Düsseldorf Akademie, opened his 147 Douglas Crimp, “The Museum’s Old / The Museum Frieder Burda, Baden-Baden and elsewhere first gallery in November 1965 showing works by Library’s New Subject,” in: The Contest of Meaning: 2008, notes 5, p.34.—The photograph of the Fat Gotthard Graubner. The Polke and Richter project Critical Histories of Photography, ed. Richard Bolton Chair by Beuys in the catalogue raisonné, vol. 1, on was his fourth exhibition. Cf. exhib. cat.: polke/ Cambridge, Mass. 1989. p.231, recalls a shot by Eva Beuys (cf. Beuys, Düssel- richter, Dokumentation einer Ausstellung des 148 Richter, Text, 2008, p.60. dorf Oberkassel, Drakeplatz. Photographien und Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden im Albertinum 149 Richter, Text, 2008, p.65. Bilderläuterungen Eva Beuys, ed. and with a fore- 2014. (Schriften des Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden, 150 Richter, Text, 2008, p.33. word by Lothar Schirmer, Munich 2016, fig. 29). The vol. 12, ed. Dietmar Elger), Cologne 2014. The 151 Richter, Text, 2008, p.30. equivalent in this photograph of what can be inter- publication reproduces the model developed by 152 Richter, Text, 2008, p.31. preted as a black floor in Richter, is a dark table top, Polke and Richter as a facsimile and juxtaposes 153 Cf. Richter, Bilder einer Epoche, pp.58–9. placed on top of boxes, on which the Fat Chair has it page by page with the actual publication, so that 154 Richter, Text, 2008, p.30. been placed parallel to the back wall, probably by the character of the collage becomes evident. The 155 Interview with Dieter Hülsmann 1966, Beuys himself. Other objects on the right comple- epilog by the editor is particularly illuminating Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.45. ment the arrangement to form a coherent, pictorial (pp.35 ff.), as is the documentation of the exhibi- 156 Richter, Text, 2008, p.22. composition. Of course, the painter has left out the tion in Hannover (pp.51 ff.). Cf. also exhib. cat. 157 Umberto Eco in: Über Spiegel und andere Phänomene, big fat wedge between the seat and the backrest as polke/richter. richter/polke, curated by Darren Leak 7th ed. Munich 1990, p.88. well as the wire at the upper end of the backrest. and Kenny Schachter, Christie’s London 2014 158 Hubertus Butin, “Gerhard Richter und die The differences could perhaps be understood as (the first part of this publication is the English Reflexion der Bilder,” in: Gerhard Richter, Editionen criticism of an artist whom Richter on the one hand translation of the aforementioned Schriften des 1965–2004. Catalogue raisonné, eds. Hubertus admired, on the other hand regarded with skepti- Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden). Butin and Stefan Gronert. Ostfildern-Ruit 2004, cism or even with suspicion. The readymade “chair,” 192 Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.39. p.57. changed and at the same time charged by Beuys, is 193 Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.40. 159 Polke said in 1966 that the grid, to him, was a sys- demystified by Richter. Cf. Uwe M. Schneede, “Ger- 194 Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.43. tem, a principle, a method, a structure. It divides, hard Richters Bilder einer Epoche,” in: exhib. cat. 195 Richter, Text, 2008, p.46.—In 1977, he was to dis- disperses, arranges and makes everything the Gerhard Richter, Bilder einer Epoche, Bucerius Kunstfo- tance himself from this statement and asserted it same . . . seen in this way, he believed that the grid rum, Hamburg. Munich 2011, p.14. “was meant polemically, against the many trium- he used already showed a well-tuned view, consti- 176 Christine Mehring, “Ob Osten, ob Westen, zu phalists who knew it all so well, and could do it all tuted the structure of our time, the structure of Hause ist’s am besten: Freunde, Familie und Design so competently, and who constantly reproduced a social order, of a culture, standardized, divided, in Richters frühen Jahren,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard their own homely little ideas.” (Text, 2008, p.98) fragmented, rationed, grouped, specialized. Richter, Panorama. London, Berlin, Paris 2006, And in 1984, asked whether he would still say this, Cf. Martin Hentschel, Die Ordnung des Heterogenen. pp.39–40. he replied: “No, I wouldn’t. I’m glad I said it then. Sigmar Polkes Werk bis 1986, Phil. Diss. Ruhr 177 Cf. exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Tate Gallery, London By doing so I created some space for myself, pro- Universität Bochum 1991, pp.148–9. 1991, p.126. See also Richter, Text, 2008, p.270. tected myself, as it were, against being tied down, 160 Hentschel, ibid., p.146. 178 Richter, Text, 2008, p.33. in order to maintain the freedom to do what I like.” 161 Richter, Text, 2008. p.33. 179 Cf. Richter, Bilder einer Epoche, pp.58–9. (Text, 2008, p.138). 162 Richter, Text, 2008. p.59. 180 Cf. Hans Platschek, “Das Bild als Ware,” in: Bestands 196 In an interview with Peter Sager 1972, cf. Richter, 163 Richter, Text, 2008, p.60. aufnahme. Eine deutsche Bilanz 1962. 36 Beiträge Text, 2008, p.64. 164 Richter, Text, 2008, p.32. deutscher Wissenschaftler, Schriftsteller und 197 In the 1980s, Richter was still committed to this 165 Douglas Crimp, On the Museums’s Ruins. MIT Press, Publizisten, ed. Hans Werner Richter, Munich, rejection of an emphatically pictorial culture. When Cambridge (Mass.) and London 1993, p.58. Vienna, Basel 1962, p.555. asked in an interview by Benjamin H. D. Buchloh in 166 Cf. Walter Benjamin, “A short history of photo 181 In an interview in 1970, the artist said: “By the way: 1986, why he was particularly interested in Lichten- graphy,” in: Screen, 1972, p.21: “The prizing of the I never painted socialist and never capitalist realism. stein and Warhol, not Jasper Johns, he responded: object from its shell, the destruction of its aura is I criticize like everyone else, continuously and a “Yes, because Johns was holding on to a culture the mark that the sense of the sameness of things thousands of things, only not when I paint, that of painting that had to do with Cézanne, and I in the world has grown to such an extent that by would be just as impossible as reportage.” rejected that. That’s why I painted from photo- means of reproduction even the unique is made to Cf. Rolf-Gunter Dienst, Noch Kunst. Düsseldorf graphs, just in order to have nothing to do with the yield up its uniqueness..” 1970, p.195. art of ‘peinture’, which makes any kind of contem-

450 notes

porary statement impossible.” Cf. Richter, Text, 228 Richter, Text, 2008, p.30 ment and resignation with regard to supposed 2008, p.68. 229 In photography it cannot be denied, “that the thing reality . . . have become facts that cannot be 198 Cf. Gerhard Richter, Editionen 1965–2013, has been there. There is double joint position of ignored.” Reprinted in the Notes 65–66 in Gerhard eds. Hubertus Butin, Stefan Gronert, Thomas reality and of the past. And since this constraint Richter. Catalogue Raisonné 1993–2004. “Auf der Olbricht, Ostfildern 2014, No. 12. exists only for Photography, we must consider it, Suche nach der Wirklichkeit. Das Menschenbild im 199 Cf. Gerhard Richter, Editionen, 1965–2013, ibid., by reduction, as the very essence, the noema of künstlerischen Werk von Gerhard Richter,” in: No. 14. Photography,” Roland Barthes, Camera Lucida: Die Kunst und das schöne Heim, 89, 1977, p.31. 200 Cf. Gerhard Richter, Editionen, 1965–2013, ibid., Reflections on Photograpy.,translated by Richard 245 Klaus Krüger, “Der Blick ins Innere des Bildes. No. 13. Howard. New York 1980, p.77–8. Ästhetische Illusion bei Gerhard Richter,” in: 201 Cf. Hans-Werner Schmidt, “‘Chinesen am Rhein.’ 230 Cf. Anja Thomas-Netik, Gerhard Richter. Mögliche Pantheon, 53, 1995, p.150. Bilder zum Bild Mao-Tse-tungs,” in: exhib. cat. Aspekte eines postmodernen Bewusstseins. Essen 1986 246 The four pictures are apparently the remains Um 1968. Konkrete Utopien in Kunst und Gesellschaft, (Kunst. Geschichte und Theorie, ed. Kunibert Bering, of a full figure family portrait. Richter had, as he Städtische Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, ed. Marie Luise vol. 7), p.118. explained in 2002, cut out the heads of the painting Syring, Düsseldorf 1990, pp.140–41. Schmidt refers 231 Misterek-Plagge, ibid., pp.267 ff. and become angry during the attempt to repair to the propaganda film Tachai—The Red Banner von 232 Cf. Julia Gelshorn, Aneignung und Wiederholung. minor damage. He then set the markings with a 1973, which shows how people, instructed by Mao, Bilddiskurse im Werk von Gerhard Richter und Sigmar broad brush and white paint. Cf. “The Day is Long. moved mountains with their bare hands. Polke, Munich 2012, p.190. Gerhard Richter Interviewed by Robert Storr,” in: 202 Cf. Gerhard Richter, Editionen 1965–2013, ibid., No. 26. 233 Gelshorn, ibid., p.192. Art in America, January 2002, p.73. 203 Elger, p.124. 234 Especially important concerning these connections 247 Misterek-Plagge, ibid., pp.187 ff. 204 Hubertus Butin, “Gerhard Richters Film ‘Volker exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter. Bilder einer Epoche (Aus 248 Cf. Andreas Huyssen, “Gedächtnisfiguren im Bradke’ und das Prinzip der Unschärfe,” in: Gerhard stellung und Katalog von Uwe M. Schneede), eds. Lauf der Zeit,” in: exhib. cat. Kunst und Kalter Krieg. Richter, Volker Bradke, 1966, Gerhard Richter Archiv. Ortrud Westheider and Michael Philipp, Bucerius Deutsche Positionen 1945–89, eds. Stephanie Barron Cologne 2010. Kunstforum, Hamburg 2011. and Sabine Eckmann, Cologne 2009, pp.227 ff. 205 Harten, ibid., p.18. 235 Richter, Bilder einer Epoche, p.108. 249 Christine Mehring, “Die Kunst eines Wunders. 206 Eckhart Gillen, “Painter without Qualities: Gerhard 236 In his commentary on the painting, Robert Storr Eine Geschichte des deutschen Pop 1955–72,” Richter’s Path from Socialist Society to Western emphasizes that what is fascinating about horror in: exhib. cat. Kunst und Kalter Krieg. Deutsche Posi- Art System, 1956–1966,” in: Richter, Early Work here leads to an unintended leveling. Ordinary tionen 1945–89, eds. Stephanie Barron and Sabine 1951–1972, 2010, p.77. people, after a stroke of destiny, would become Eckmann, Cologne 2009, p.169. 207 Hubertus Butin, “Heldenverehrung oder Ideologie celebrities, while conversely, in the event of misfor- 250 Elger, 2008, p.157. kritik? Gerhard Richters Film ‘Volker Bradke’“ von tune, society’s elite would suddenly find themselves 251 On Pop, East-West, and some picture sources, 1966, in: Richter, Bilder einer Epoche, ibid., p.86. at the bottom, that is, back on a par with ordinary in: Richter, Bilder einer Epoche, p.110. 208 This can be surmised from Two Fiats 1964 (pl. 13) citizens. Like Warhol, Richter is said to have under- 252 Cf. Stefan Gronert, Gerhard Richter, Porträts, and Ferrari (CR 22) as well as Motor Boat (pl. 10). stood that the tabloid press, by eagerly following Ostfildern 2006, p.67. 209 Boat Trip (CR 69), Woman with Child (Beach) (pl. 21), the macabre transformation of the law of supply 253 John J. Curley, “Gerhard Richter’s Cold War Ballet Dancers (CR 123), Hunting Party (CR 121). and demand, was embracing the tradition of the Vision,” in: Richter, Early Work, p.29. 210 Cf. Skater (CR 2), High Diver I (pl. 14), Gymnastics Dance of Death, which also disrupted social hierar- 254 Uwe M. Schneede, “Gerhard Richters Bilder (CR 156). chies. Cf. Storr, Gerhard Richter, Forty Years of einer Epoche,” in: Richter, Bilder einer Epoche, 211 Great Sphinx of Giza (pl. 15), Negroes (Nuba) (CR 45), Painting, ibid., p.38. p.26. Mount Everest (CR 48/6), Milan: Cathedral (CR 49), 237 While Warhol’s oeuvre is often associated with 255 Robert Storr, Gerhard Richter, Forty Years of Painting, Niagara Falls (CR 64), Vogelfluglinie (CR 146/4), fashion, the upper ten thousand, homosexuality, ibid., p.41. Cathedral Square Milan (pl. 127). and his factory, Thomas Crow especially empha- 256 Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Gerhard Richter’s Works 212 Cf. Neuschwanstein Castle (pl. 114), Alster (fig. 99), sized that in his work, the reality of suffering and of Mourning,” October Files, 2009, p.76. Forest Piece (CR 66), Meadow (CR 76), Snowscape death played a key role. The images of Marilyn, Liz, 257 Guido Meincke, Gerhard Richter / Zeitgenossenschaft, (Blurred) (CR 80/4), Italian Landscape (CR 167/2). Jackie, and others, as well as the representations of Munich 2013, p.23. 213 Cf. Deer and Deer II (CR 7 and 129), Cow and Cow II terrible accidents testify to this. If Warhol repeats 258 Hubertus Butin, “Gerhard Richters Editionen und (CR 15 and 88), Birds (CR 21), Tiger (CR 78), and Jackie several times on a canvas, says Hal Foster, die Diskurse der Bilder,” in: Gerhard Richter, Editionen others. then this creates an ambiguous effect. On the one 1965–2013, eds. Hubertus Butin, Stefan Gronert, 214 Two Women with a Cake (CR 95), Group of People hand, the rejection of a dreadful meaning gets Thomas Olbricht, Ostfildern 2014, p.105. (pl. 17), Child on a Horse (CR 80/22), Working in the virulent, on the other hand, it emphatically empha- 259 Elger, 2008, p.182. Garden I and Working in the Garden II (CR 113, 114), sizes it. It is both about isolating a traumatic affect 260 Cf. Stefan Gronert, Gerhard Richter, Portraits, or Travel Agency (CR 120). and about creating it in the first place. One could Ostfildern 2006, p.67. 215 Red Nude (CR 101), Lovers in the Forest (pl. 18), therefore speak of a “traumatic realism” in 261 Cf. Jürgen Schreiber, Ein Maler aus Deutschland. Two Couples (CR 128), Olympia (pl. 19), Easter Nudes Warhol’s work. Cf. Hal Foster, The Return of the Real. Gerhard Richter, Das Drama seiner Familie, Munich (CR 148), Student (CR 149), Spanish Nudes (CR 150), The Avant-garde at the End of the Century, MIT Press, and Zürich 2005, pp.64 ff. Bathers (CR 154), Diana (CR 155), and Small Nude Cambridge (Mass.) and London 1996, pp.132, 130. 262 Cf. Tobias Freimüller, “Operation Volkskörper,” (CR 165). 238 Anja Thomas-Netik, Gerhard Richter. Mögliche in: Karrieren im Zwielicht. Hitlers Eliten nach 1945, 216 “Es ist, wie es ist.” Gerhard Richter’s letters to two Aspekte eines postmodernen Bewusstseins. Essen 1986 ed. Norbert Frei, Frankfurt 2004, pp.50 ff. artist friends. With an introduction by Dietmar (Kunst. Geschichte und Theorie, ed. Kunibert Bering, 263 Monika Jenni-Preihs, Gerhard Richter und die Elger, in: Richter, Bilder einer Epoche, p.59. vol. 7, p.96). Geschichte Deutschlands. Vienna and Berlin 2013 217 Uncle Rudi (pl. 25), Aunt Marianne (pl. 22), Christa 239 Gregor Stemmrich, “Gerhard Richter—Malerei (Grazer Edition, ed. Johann Konrad Eberlein, and Wolfi (pl. 20), Family (pl. 23), and Family in the als Entzugserscheinung,” in: Gerhard Richter, Sechs vol. 13), pp.109–10. Snow (CR 80/8) Vorträge, eds. Dietmar Elger and Jürgen Müller. 264 In conversation with Robert Storr 2002. 218 Richter, Atlas, 2006, No. 8. Cologne 2007 (Schriften des Gerhard Richter Cf. Richter, Text, 2008. p.416. 219 Richter, Text, 2008, p.260. Archiv Dresden, vol. 1. ed. Dietmar Elger), p.128. 265 Ibid., p.416. 220 Eckhart Gillen, “Painter without Qualities: 240 Cf. Richter, Atlas, 2006, No. 13. 266 Richter’s letter to Wieland Förster dated Febr. 4, Gerhard Richter’s Path from Socialist Society to 241 Guido Meincke, Gerhard Richter / Zeitgenossenschaft, 1962, in: Richter, Bilder einer Epoche, p.50. Western Art System, 1956–1966,” in: Richter, Munich 2013, pp.40–41. 267 Richter, Text, 2008, p.417. Early Work, pp.80–81. 242 Richter, Atlas, 2006, No. 7. 268 Andreas Huyssen, “Gedächtnisfiguren im Lauf der 221 Richter, Atlas, 2006, No. 3. 243 So Jürgen Harten, “Der romantische Wille zur Zeit,” in: exhib. cat. Kunst und Kalter Krieg, Deutsche 222 Paul B. Jaskot, “Gerhard Richter und Adolf Abstraktion,” in: Gerhard Richter, Bilder 1962–1985, Positionen 1945–89, eds. Stephanie Barron and Eichmann,” in: Oxford Art Journal, vol. 28, No. 3, ed. Jürgen Harten on the occasion of the exhibition Sabine Eckmann, Cologne 2009, p.231. 2005, p.475. in Düsseldorf, Berlin, Bern, and Vienna 1986, 269 Ulrich Herbert, Geschichte Deutschlands im 223 Jaskot, ibid., p.476. Cologne 1986, p.21. 20. Jahrhundert, Munich 2014, p.773. 224 Cf. Christine Mehring, “Ob Osten, ob Westen, zu 244 Axel Hinrich Murken and Christa Murken-Altrogge, 270 Herbert, ibid., p.773. Hause ist’s am besten: Freunde, Familie und Design “Künstler—die wichtigsten Leute der Welt. 271 Robert Storr, Gerhard Richter, Forty Years of Painting, in Richters frühen Jahren,” in: Panorama, 2011, p.35. Betrachtungen zum Menschbild Gerhard Richters,” 2002, p.41. 225 Pierre Bourdieu, Un art moyen. Essai sur les usages in: special edition from: Deutsches Ärzteblatt— 272 Guido Meincke, Gerhard Richter/Zeitgenossenschaft, sociaux de la photographie, Paris 1965, p.25. Ärztliche Mitteilungen, 74th year, issue 14, April 1977, Munich 2013, p.34. 226 Bourdieu, ibid., p.112. p.10. In another essay Murken comes to the conclu- 273 Dietmar Rübel, “Die Fotografie (un)erträglich 227 Bourdieu, ibid., p.113. sion that in some “beautiful” paintings, “disillusion- machen. Gerhard Richter gesehen mit W. G.

451 notes

Sebald,” in: Sechs Vorträge über Gerhard Richter, 296 Richter, Text, 2008, p.33. Allgemeinen Zeitung, which appeared at the start of eds. Dietmar Elger and Jürgen Müller, Cologne 297 Cf. Laszlo Glozer, Westkunst. Zeitgenössische Kunst the Iraq War on March 20 and 21, 2003. 2007 (Schriften des Gerhard Richter Archiv seit 1939, Cologne 1981, pp.234 ff. 12 The Seascapes of 1969–70 (CR 233–245, pls. 122, Dresden, vol. 1), p.53. 298 Robert Rauschenberg said in the late 1950s: 123) are based on collages, for each of which 274 Cf. exhib. cat. Entartete Kunst. Bildersturm vor “A pair of socks is no less suitable to make a painting Richter used two different photographs. Also 25 Jahren. Haus der Kunst, Munich 1962, edited by with than words, nails, turpentine, oil, and belonging in this context are paintings based on artist/author Jürgen Claus (on the advisory board fabric,” in: exhib. cat. Sixteen Americans, Museum double-exposure photographs (CR 306) and the were museum directors who had been dismissed of Modern Art, New York 1959, p.58. Gilbert & George series of 1975 (pls. 110–113). in the Third Reich, such as Eberhard Hanfstaengl, 299 Note dated Oct. 12, 1986, cf. Richter, Text, 2008, 13 Richter, Text, 2008, p.29. Carl Georg Heise—alongside Kurt Martin, P. O. p.162. 14 Jean-Paul Sartre, Was ist Literatur? Reinbek bei Rave, and Franz Roh et al.). 300 In conversation with Amine Haase in 1982, Hamburg 1958, p.9.—Whether Richter had read 275 Referring to Reinhard Müller-Mehlis, Jaskot Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.122. Sartre is not certain. At least, he wrote to Wieland named journalists such as Karl Korn, Carl Linfert, 301 Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, p.195. Förster on April 25, 1961, among other things: Bruno Werner, Karl Silex, and others. Cf. Paul B. 302 Rüdiger Bubner, “Über einige Bedingungen gegenwär- “Bought Sartre instead of literature.” Cf. exhib. cat. Jaskot, “Gerhard Richter and Adolf Eichmann,” tiger Ästhetik” (1973), in: Bubner, Ästhetische Erfahrung, Gerhard Richter, Bilder einer Epoche, ed. Uwe M. in: Oxford Art Journal, vol. 28, No. 3, 2005, p.463. Frankfurt 1989, p.38. Schneede, Bucerius Kunstforum. Hamburg 2011, 276 Cf. Jaskot, ibid., p.478. 303 Götz Adriani, Winfried Konnertz, Karin Thomas, p.41. 277 Huyssen, ibid., p.232. Joseph Beuys. Leben und Werk, 3rd ed. Cologne 1986, 15 Sartre, ibid., p.9. 278 The thematic variety is amazing, if one only recalls p.181. 16 Sartre. ibid., p.8. the following works: Working in the Garden I (CR 113) 304 A second German artist, Friedrich Gräsel, was 17 Sartre, ibid., p.71. and Travel Agency (CR 120), Hunting Party (CR 121) represented outdoors with his sculpture Tor und Dop- 18 Sartre, ibid., p.124. and Lovers in the Forest (pl. 18), Ballet Dancers pelwinkel. 19 Gottfried Boehm, introduction, in: Konrad Fiedler, (CR 123) and Sailors (CR 126), Sheikh with his Wife 305 There were a total of 6 exhibitions between 1960 and Schriften zur Kunst, introduced and ed. Gottfried (CR 127) and Deer II ( CR 129), Eight Student Nurses 1996. Cf. Friedrich Meschede and Guido de Werd Boehm, vol. 1, 2nd ed. Munich 1991, p.LXXII. (pl. 29) and Girl on a Donkey (CR 132), Helga Matura (eds.), Mit der Möglichkeit gesehen zu werden. 20 Boehm, Einleitung, ibid., p.LXXIV. with her Fiancé (pl. 24) and Great Pyramid (CR 131). Dorothee und Konrad Fischer: Archiv einer Haltung. 21 Cf. Auge und Hand. Konrad Fiedlers Kunsttheorie im Volker Bradke (fig. 25). Düsseldorf 2010, p.312. Kontext, ed. Stefan Majetschak, Munich 1997, 279 Julia Franck, Rede für Gerhard Richter, Schriften 306 Klaus Honnef, “Schwierigkeiten beim Beschreiben der including inter alia Gottfried Boehm, “Die Logik des des Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden, vol. 9, Realität . . . ,” in: exhib. cat. Gegenverkehr e.V., Aachen Auges. Konrad Fiedler nach einhundert Jahren,” ed. Dietmar Elger, Dresden 2012, p.16. 1969, n.p. ibid., pp.27–40. Furthermore: Lambert Wiesing, 280 Thus, for example, Götz Adriani, Von der ,”Lust, 307 Elger, p.231. “Konrad Fiedler,” in: Stefan Majetschak (ed.), etwas Schönes zu malen,’” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard 308 Richter in his letter to Edy de Wilde dated Klassiker der Kunstphilosophie. Von Platon bis Lyotard, Richter, Bilder aus privaten Sammlungen. Museum Frie- February 23, 1975. Cf. Richter, Text 2008, pp.92. Munich 2005, pp.179–98. Cf. on this Friedrich der Burda, Baden-Baden 2008 (et al.), p.24. Weltzien, “Produktionsästhetik und Zeitlichkeit. 281 Stefan Gronert is of the opinion that Richter’s Zur Dynamisierung des Kunstbegriffs bei Konrad painting Woman Descending the Staircase of 1965 2. “in painting, thinking is painting” Fiedler,” in: Momente im Prozess. Zeitlichkeit künstleri- (CR 92) is more closely related to Ema (Nude on a scher Produktion, eds. Karin Gludovatz and Martin Staircase) (pl. 30) than to the picture by Duchamp. 1 Letter to Wieland Förster dated February 4, 1962, cf. Peschken, Reimer Verlag 2004, pp.43–55. Cf. also: Cf. Stefan Gronert, Gerhard Richter, Portaits, Richter, Bilder einer Epoche, p.50. Robert Schade, “Zeigen und Evidenzproduktion Ostfildern 2006, pp.73–4. 2 In 1989, in conversation with Jan Thorn-Prikker, Rich- in Konrad Fiedlers ‘Ursprung der künstlerischen 282 Klaus Krüger, “Der Blick ins Innere des Bildes. ter said: “If I work methodically, it just doesn’t work. A Tätigkeit’ (1887),” in: Sichtbarkeiten 2. Präsentieren. Ästhetische Illusion bei Gerhard Richter,” in: picture has a logic that can’t be verbalized until after- Zeigen zwischen Körper, Bild und Sprache, eds. Fabian Pantheon, vol. 53, 1995, p.159. ward; it can’t be designed. We talk about thinking a Goppelsröder and Martin Beck, Berlin 2014, 283 Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Ema (1966) oder ein thing over, meaning over again, afterward.” (Richter, pp.191–216. Akt in der Neoavantgarde,” in: exhib. cat.: Text, 2008, p.233). Eleven years later he elaborated to 22 To name but a few examples: Werner Hofmann, Gerhard Richter, vol. 2, Texte, Bonn 1993, p.26. Astrid Kasper: “painting is like a substitute for think- “Studien zur Kunsttheorie des 20. Jahrhunderts,” 284 Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Divided Memory and ing—a different way of thinking.” (Richter, Text, 2008, in: Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte, vol. 18 , 1955, Post-Traditional Identity: Gerhard Richter’s Work p.365), and in 2002 the artist said to Robert Storr: pp.136–56, spec. pp.138–41; Arnold Gehlen, of Mourning,” in: Richter’s Work of Mourning, October “Maybe seeing and deciding and doing is such a com- Zeit-Bilder. Zur Soziologie und Ästhetik der modernen Files, 8, ed. by Benjamin H. D. Buchloh. Cambridge plicated, delicate process that I should not be both- Malerei (1960), 3rd expanded ed, Frankfurt 1986, (Mass.) 2009, pp.72–3. ered by verbalization attempts.” (Richter, Text, 2008, pp.59 ff.; Otto Stelzer, Die Vorgeschichte der 285 Richter in an interview with Astrid Kasper (2000), p.408). abstrakten Kunst, Munich 1964, pp.208 ff.; Wilhelm in: Richter, Text, 2008, pp.369. 3 Konrad Fiedler, “Über den Ursprung der künstleri- Perpeet, “Historisches und Systematisches zur 286 Cf. Julia Gelshorn, “Nachbilder. Zu Gerhard schen Tätigkeit” (1887), in: Konrad Fiedler, Schriften zur Einfühlungsästhetik,” in: Zeitschrift für Ästhetik und Richters visuellem Repertoire,” in: exhib. cat. Kunst, introduced and published by Gottfried Boehm, Allgemeine Kunstwissenschaft, vol. 11/1, 1966, Gerhard Richter. Ohne Farbe. Museum Franz Gertsch. vol. 1, 2nd. ed., Munich 1991, pp.175–6. pp.193–216. Ostfildern 2005, pp.34–5. 4 Paul Cézanne. Die Bilder seiner Ausstellung Paris 1907, 23 Willi Baumeister, Das Unbekannte in der Kunst (1947). 287 Cf. Hal Foster, “Schein im Sinne Gerhard Richters”; besucht, betrachtet und beschrieben von Rainer Maria Rilke. 2nd ed. Cologne 1960, p.52. in: Gerhard Richter. Fotografie und Malerei – Malerei als Reconstruction of the Cézanne exhibition at the 24 Arnold Gehlen, Zeit-Bilder, (1960), 3rd ed. Frankfurt Fotografie. Acht Texte zu Gerhard Richters Medien- Grand Palais, assembled and introduced by 1986, p.60. strategie, eds. Dietmar Elger and Kerstin Küster, Bettina Kaufmann, ed. Lothar Schirmer, Munich 2018, 25 Gehlen, ibid., p.61. Cologne 2011 (Schriften des Gerhard Richter p.52. 26 Gehlen, ibid., p.159. Archiv Dresden, vol. 8), pp.91–2. 5 Fiedler, ibid., p.173. 27 Richter, letter to Helmut and Erika Heinze dated 288 Richter, Text, 2008, p.53. 6 Klee’s contribution to the anthology “Schöpferische March 10, 1963, in: Gerhard Richter, Bilder einer 289 Richter, Notes 1964 (–1967), in: Richter, Text, 2008, Konfession” (1920) in: Paul Klee, Schriften. Rezensionen Epoche, ibid., p.54. p.22. und Aufsätze, ed. Christian Geelhaar, Cologne 1976, 28 Richter, Text, 2008, p.161. 290 Richter, Notiz 1971, in: Richter, Text, 2008, p.32. pp.118 ff. See also Gottfried Boehm, “Die Logik des 29 Cahiers de Georges Braque, 1917–47. Paris, New York 291 Richter, Note 1967, in: Richter, Text, 2008, p.47. Auges. Konrad Fiedler nach einhundert Jahren,” in: 1948. Cited hereafter Walter Hess, dokumente zum 292 Richter, Note 1967, in: Richter, Text, 2008, pp.48. Auge und Hand. Konrad Fiedlers Kunsttheorie im Kontext, verständnis der modernen malerei. Reinbek bei 293 Richter in an interview with Wolfgang Pehnt in ed. Stefan Majetschak, Hamburg 1956, p.54. 1982. Cf. Werner Krüger, Wolfgang Pehnt, Künstler Munich 1997, pp.36–7. 30 Picasso, conversation with Zervos, in: Cahiers d’Art im Gespräch. Documenta-Documente, Cologne 7 Richter, Text, 2008, p.65. 1935. Cited hereafter Walter Hess, ibid., p.53. 1984, p.128. 8 Richter, Text, 2008, p.79. 31 Francis Bacon, “Matthew Smith—A Painter’s Trib- 294 Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “The Painting of 9 Richter, Text, 2008. p.265. ute,” in: exhib. cat. Matthew Smith. Paintings from Painting,” in: Gerhard Richter, Abstract Paintings. 10 By way of example, this becomes obvious in the text 1909 to 1952, The Tate Gallery, London 1953, p.12. Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, and edited together with Polke in the Galerie h exhibition 32 Sartre, ibid., p.123. Whitechapel Gallery, London 1978–9, p.16. catalog (polke/richter. richter/polke, Hannover 1966). 33 Richter, Text, 2008, p.159. 295 Klaus Krüger, “Der Blick ins Innere des Bildes. 11 This can be seen in the book War Cut, because here, 34 Florian Klinger, Theorie der Form. Gerhard Richter Ästhetische Illusion bei Gerhard Richter,” in: details from one of Richter’s abstract paintings (CR und die Kunst des pragmatischen Zeitalters. Munich Pantheon, 53, 1995, p.161. 648/2) are combined with texts from the Frankfurter 2013, p.21.

452 notes

35 Klinger, ibid., p.64. von Sigmar Polke,” in: exhib. cat. Sigmar Polke. Die he says in his Note of March 18, 1986: “I am first 36 Richter, Text, 2008, p.162. drei Lügen der Malerei, Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle of all supported by music (Schönberg and all other 37 Interview with Sabine Schütz, in: Richter, Text, 2008, der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn 1997, p.47. pure music evolves out of its own laws, and not out p.256. 17 Cf. Hentschel, ibid., pp.49–50. of the effort to find a form for a specific state- 38 Interview with Sabine Schütz, in: Richter, Text, 2008, 18 Cf. Thomas Kellein, “Leben mit Pop,” in: exhib. ment).” Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.160. p.257. cat. “Ich nenne mich als Maler Konrad Lueg,” P.S.1, 33 Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, p.217. 39 Cf. “Antivision,” in: October, No. 36, spring 1986, Contemporary Art Center, New York 1999–2000 34 Adorno, ibid., p.221. p.147. and elsewhere, p.24. 35 It should be noted that contingency is to be under- 40 Cf. Martin Jay, Downcast Eyes. The Denigration of 19 Cf. Kellein, ibid., p.33. stood as an area of possibility of what can happen Vision in Twentieth.Century French Thought, University 20 Julia Gelshorn, Aneignung und Wiederholung. Bild and thus is not clearly distinguished from chance as of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles 1994, diskurse im Werk von Gerhard Richter und Sigmar Polke, a realized event. p.161. Munich 2012, p.11. 36 Richter, Text, 2008, p.53. 41 Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, p.121. 21 Gelshorn, ibid., p.24. 37 Cf. Atlas, 2006, No. 278, 280. 42 Thus in conversation with Robert Storr in 2002, 22 Richter, Text, 2008, p.98. 38 Robert Storr, Gerhard Richter, Forty Years of Painting. cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.439. 23 Richter noted in 1984: “No, I wouldn’t [say that The Museum of Modern Art, New York 2002, p.51. again]. I’m glad I said it then. By doing so I created 39 Cf. Julia Gelshorn, Aneignung und Wiederholung. some space for myself, protected myself, as it were, Bilddiskurse im Werk von Gerhard Richter und Sigmar 3. color charts against being tied down, in order to maintain the Polke, Munich 2012, p.93. freedom to do what I like—to try anything I like, and 40 Jürgen Harten, “Der romantische Wille zur 1 For example, Lovers in the Forest (pl. 18); Helga not to become an artist-painter who is tied down Abstraktion,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Bilder Matura with her Fiancé (pl. 24), Two Couples (CR 128); to a single trick.” Richter, Text, 2008, p.138. 1962–1985, Cologne 1986, p.38. Eight Student Nurses (pl. 29), and others. 24 Richter commented along those lines in 1993 and 41 Cf. on this Hubertus Butin, “Gerhard Richters Edi- 2 CR 142, 144, 143/1 (pl. 36, 31, 37). in 2003 (cf. Richter, Text, 2008, pp.306 and 483). tionen und die Diskurse der Bilder,” in: Gerhard 3 CR 148–157 (pl. 19). 25 According to Florian Klinger, Theorie der Form. Richter, Editionen 1965–2013, eds. Hubertus Butin, 4 CR 160. Gerhard Richter und die Kunst des pragmatischen Stefan Gronert, Thomas Obricht, Ostfildern 2014, 5 CR 158, 159, 161–163 (pl. 33). Zeitalters, Munich 2013, p.32. pp.34–5. 6 CR 177/1–3 CR 178/1–8 (pl. 129). 26 Text for the exhibition catalog of the Galerie h, 42 Butin, ibid., p.35. 7 CR 179/1–3; 181–186, 189. Hannover 1966, Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.40. 43 Robert Morris, “Notes on Sculpture” (1966), in: 8 Richter, Text, 2008, p.46. Eighteen months earlier, 27 Hubertus Butin rightly points out the proximity Minimal Art. A Critical Anthology, edited by Gregory Richter had already made a statement to that between the Dulcolux company’s color sample Battcock, New York 1968, p.226. effect, adding to his earlier statement, which he cards from the 1960s and the Ten Large Color Charts. 44 “Questions to Stella and Judd. Interview by Bruce repeated almost word for word in 1966, but adding Cf. Butin, in: “Gerhard Richters Editionen und die Glaser,” ed. Lucy Lippard (1966), in: Minimal Art, the demand to preserve contrariness: “That is why Diskurse der Bilder,” in: Gerhard Richter, Editionen, ibid., p.150 (Judd) and p.149 (Stella). I have to avoid intervening or altering anything, for eds. Hubertus Butin, Stefan Gronert, Thomas 45 “My painting is based on the fact that only what the sake of a simplicity that can thus be more gen- Olbricht, Ostfildern 2014, p.34. can be seen is there. It really is an object . . . What eral, definitive, lasting, and comprehensive.” 28 Butin, ibid., pp.34–5 and fig.26 . you see is what you see.” Ibid., p.158. Richter, Text, 2008, p.34. 29 Butin, ibid., p.38.—On another occasion, Duchamp 46 Lawrence Alloway, Systemic Painting, Guggenheim 9 Richter, Text, 2008, p.46. The statement was pub- says: “Making something is choosing a tube of blue, Museum 1966; cited hereafter Minimal Art, ibid., lished in Rolf-Gunter Dienst, Deutsche Kunst: Eine a tube of red, putting some of it on the palette, p.55. neue Generation. Cologne 1970, n.p. . . . and always choosing the place to put it on the 47 Richard Wollheim, “Minimal Art” (1965), in: 10 “I am only interested in expressing basic human canvas, it’s always choosing.” “Marcel Duchamp Minimal Art, ibid., p.395. emotions—tragedy, ecstasy, doom, and so on—and Speaks,” interview by George Heard Hamilton and 48 Alloway, ibid., p.56. the fact that lots of people break down and cry Richard Hamilton, London, BBC, 1959; published 49 Cf. also Storr, ibid., p.51, where reference is made when confronted with my pictures shows that I in Audio Arts Magazine 2, No. 4 (1976), quoted in in particular to Sol LeWitt’s “Sentences on Concep- communicate those basic emotions.“ Selden Thierry de Duve, Kant after Duchamp, Cambridge, tual Art” (1970), albeit with the limiting note: Rodman, Conversation with Artists, New York 1957, Mass. 1996, p.161. “Richter was and is a Conceptual artist not merely p.93. 30 Jacques Monod, Chance and Necessity. An essay on the by virtue of method, but by poetic aspiration.” 11 Jean Bazaine, Notes sur la peinture d’aujourd’hui, natural philosophy of modern biology (New York, 50 Stefan Germer, “Retrospective Ahead,” in: Gerhard Paris 1953; Walter Hess, dokumente zum verständnis Toronto 1972), pp.112–13.—The book was first pub- Richter, Tate Gallery, London 1991, p.27. der modernen malerei, Reinbeck bei Hamburg 1956, lished in French, under the title Le hazard et la 51 Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, Neo-Avantgarde and Culture p.126. nécessité 1970, and one year later in German, yet Industry. Essays on European and American Art from 12 Andy Warhol, The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From Richter does not refer to Monod until 1986. 1955 to 1975. Cambridge (Mass.) and London 2000, A to B and Back Again), London 1975, p.149. Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.182.—Manfred Eigen p.395.—Richter himself stated in a note in 1973 that 13 Cf. John Cage, “Lecture on Nothing,” in: Silence extended Monod’s concept by an important aspect painting was “total idiocy” if one did not believe in (first published in 1959). Here cited after John when he said in the preface that, as much as the being able to change the world with dedicated Cage, Silence, Lectures & Writings, London 1980, individual form owes its origin to chance, as much painting. Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.70. p.109. In his Notes, Richter fist mentioned Cage is the process of selection and evolution an indis- 52 Rosalind E. Krauss, “The Originality of the on Nov. 13, 1985 (Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.143). pensable necessity. Chance itself is limited through Avant-Garde” (1981), in: The Originality of the In 2000, he returned to this in an interview with the ‘sieve’ of selection. Ibid. Avant-Garde and Other Modern Myths, Cambridge Bruno Corà, asserting that he had had no ideas. In 31 Theodor W. Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, p.51. (Mass.) and London 1986, p.161. 2002, Richter again refers to Cage, in an interview 32 Peter Bürger, Theorie der Avantgarde, Frankfurt 1974, 53 Cf. Jürgen Harten, “Der romantische Wille zur with Robert Storr, calling him a “classic” artist, who p.92. It is plausible for Bürger to assume that Abstraktion,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Bilder / was probably even more severe and perhaps even Adorno’s thesis of the primacy of construction as Paintings 1962–1985, ed. Jürgen Harten, Cologne more scrupulous than himself. Cf. Richter, Text a rule, to which the artist submits himself without 1986, p.37. 2008, p.419. being able to determine the consequences before- 54 In 2007, Richter took this one step further when, 14 In February 1973, Richter recorded: “One has to hand, has its origins in his knowledge of the com- in the context of the Cologne Cathedral window, believe in what one is doing, one has to commit positional techniques of twelve-tone music. 4,900 Colors, an even larger color chart picture was oneself inwardly, in order to do painting. Once (Bürger, ibid., p.92) Twelve-tone rationality “is a created. Cf. exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter—Zufall, das obsessed, one ultimately carries it to the point of closed system - one which is opaque even unto Kölner Domfenster und 4900 Farben, Cologne 2007. believing that one might change human beings itself . . . at the same time merely something 55 Richter, Text, 2008, p.71. through painting. But if one lacks this passionate imposed upon the material, by which the legitimacy 56 Richter, Text, 2008, p.91. commitment, there is nothing left to do. Then it is is determined. This determination itself does not 57 Birgit Pelzer, “Der Zufall als Partner,” in: Gerhard best to leave it alone.” Richter, Text, 2008., p.70. actually serve a purpose. Accuracy or correctness, Richter. Texte zu 4900 Farben, Ostfildern 2009, 15 Cf. Friedrich Wolfram Heubach, “Die Kunst der as mathematical hypothesis, takes the place of that (Schriften des Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden, 60er Jahre. Anmerkungen in ent/täuschender element called “the idea” in traditional art”. vol. 3, ed. Dietmar Elger), p.59. Absicht,” in: exhib. cat. Die 60er Jahre. Kölns Weg zur Theodor W. Adorno, Philosophy of Modern Music, 58 Birgit Pelzer, “Der Zufall als Partner,” ibid., p.60. Kunstmetropole. Vom Happening zum Kunstmarkt, London, 2003, p. 66. Richter’s conviction for 59 Note dated February, 28, 85. Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, eds. Wulf Herzogenrath and Gabriele Lueg, “content to evolve out of form (and not the p.141. Cologne 1986, pp.112 ff. reverse process, whereby a form is found to fit a 60 Jean-Pierre Criqui, “Drei Impromptus über die 16 Cf. Martin Hentschel, “Solve et Coagula. Zum Werk literary idea),” he explains, following Adorno, when Kunst Gerhard Richters,” in: Parkett, 35, 1993, p.35.

453 notes

61 Dieter Schwarz, “Über die Möglichkeit mehrerer Gerhard Richter. Fotografie und Malerei—Malerei als die Diskurse der Bilder,” in: Gerhard Richter Editionen Farbtuben,” in: Bilderstreit. Widerspruch, Einheit und Fotografie. Acht Texte zu Gerhard Richters Medien 1965–2013, ibid., pp.25–6. Fragment in der Kunst seit 1960, eds. Siegfried Gohr strategie, eds. Dietmar Elger and Kerstin Küster. 28 Cf. “Questions to Stella and Judd, Interview by and Johannes Gachnang, Cologne 1989, p.218. Cologne 2008 (Schriften des Gerhard Richter Bruce Glaser,” Lucy R. Lippard, in: Minimal Art. 62 Cf. Marcus du Sautoy, “Malen nach Zahlen. Archiv Dresden, vol. 8), p.87. A Critical Anthology, ed. by Gregory Battcock, Gerhard Richters ‘4900 Farben,’” in: Gerhard Rich- 16 Julia Gelshorn, Aneignung und Wiederholung. New York 1968, p.158. ter. Texte zu “4900 Farben,” Ostfildern 2009 Bilddiskurse im Werk von Gerhard Richter und Sigmar 29 Cf. Robert Storr, “Simple Gifts. Robert Ryman,” (Schriften des Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden, Polke. Munich 2012, pp.88–9. in: exhib. cat. Robert Ryman, Tate Gallery, London, vol. 3), pp.88–9. 17 Cf. Hubertus Butin, “Gerhard Richters Editionen The Museum of Modern Art, New York 1993–4, 63 Birgit Pelzer, “The Asymptote of Chance,” in: und die Diskurse der Bilder,” in: Gerhard Richter pp.25–6. exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, 4900 Colours. Serpentine Editionen 1965–2013, eds. Hubertus Butin, Stefan 30 Michael Fried, “Art and Objecthood,” in: Minimal Gallery, London, 2007–8, p.122. Gronert, Thomas Olbricht, Ostfildern 2014, Art. A Critical Anthology, ed. by Gregory Battcock, 64 Birgit Pelzer, “Die Asymptote des Zufalls. ‘4900 pp.25–6. According to Butin, with his gray images, New York 1968, p.143 (Fried’s fundamental essay Farben’ von Gerhard Richter—’Version II’—in der Richter appropriated the system of monochrome was published in Artforum in June 1967). Serpentine Gallery in London,” in: Gerhard Richter. painting in order to reflect on its historicity and 31 Interview with Bruce Ferguson and Jeffrey Spalding, Texte zu “4900 Farben,” Ostfildern 2009 (Schriften examine it for new possibilities of realization, 1978, Cf. Richter, Text 2008, p.108. des Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden, vol. 3, ed. which in turn would become part of the system. 32 Victor I. Stoichita, Das selbstbewusste Bild. Vom Dietmar Elger), p.84. The author names among others the different Ursprung der Metamalerei. Munich 1998, p.311. 65 Cf. Birgit Pelzer, “Die Asymptote des Zufalls,” ibid., meanings that other painters attribute to the color 33 “Samuel Beckett and Georges Duthuit, Three p.75. gray. For Kandinsky, the color is bleak;, for Itten it is Dialogues,” in: Transitions Forty-Nine, 1949, No. 5, 66 Cf. Birgit Pelzer, “Der Zufall als Partner. Gerhard characterless, expressionless, and indifferent; while p.2. Cited here after Roald Nasgaard, in: exhib. cat. Richters Farbfelder 2007,” in: Gerhard Richter, Texte for Klee it describes the loss of life. Ibid., p.29. Gerhard Richter, Paintings. Art Gallery of Ontario, zu “4900 Farben,” ibid., p.57. 18 Robert Storr, Gerhard Richter. Forty Years of Painting. Toronto 1988 (et al.), p.79. 67 Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Das Diagramm und das Museum of Modern Art, New York 2002, p.56. 34 Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, p.31. Farbfeld. Gerhard Richters ‘4900 Farben’,” in: 19 Stefan Germer, “Retrospective Ahead,” in: 35 Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Gerhard Richters Acht Gerhard Richter, Texte zu “4900 Farben,” ibid., p.21. exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Tate Gallery, London Grau: zwischen Vorschein und Glanz,” in: Gerhard 68 Birgit Pelzer, “Der Zufall als Partner. Gerhard 1991–2, p.29. Richter, Acht Grau. New York, Berlin 2002, p.20. Richters Farbfelder 2007,” ibid., p.56. 20 Gregor Stemmrich, “Gerhard Richter—Malerei als 36 Cf. Luc Lang, “The Photographer’s Hand. Phenom- Entzugserscheinung,” in: Sechs Vorträge über Gerhard enology in Politics,” in: Gerhard Richter. Editions Dis Richter, eds. Dietmar Elger and Jürgen Müller, Voir, Paris 1995, p.44: “Richter’s work on mono- 4. inpaintings and gray paintings Cologne 2007 (Schriften des Gerhard Richter chrome gray outfits phenomenological resistance Archiv Dresden, vol. 1, ed. Dietmar Elger), p.119. as much as it constructs political dissent: Resistance, 1 Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “The Painting of Painting,” 21 “That’s what we’re all trying to do, to see and to in modelling this ‘color’ on the flat canvas to in: Gerhard Richter, Abstract Paintings. Stedelijk define this quality. It’s actually the most fantastic explore the limitless and specific resources with Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, and Whitechapel cultural achievement, that we can distinguish which painting can model light; dissent, when he Gallery, London 1978–9, p.16. between good and bad, that we’re always working designates medium gray as the optical and cogni- 2 Richter, Text, 2008, p.57. at this, be it as viewers or producers, since time tive destiny of our democracies to the extent that 3 Letter to Jean-Christophe Ammann, February 1973, immemorial.” Gerhard Richter in discussion with seeking the largest common denominator of visibil- in: Richter, Text, 2008, p.71. Nicholas Serota, in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter: ity for images and of legibility for texts, appears 4 Richter, Text, 2008, p.72. Panorama: A Retrospective: Expanded Edition, New ever more threateningly, as our totalitarian horizon.” 5 Cf. Julia Friedrich, Grau ohne Grund. Gerhard Richters York 2016, p.16. 37 Walter Benjamin, Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner Monochromien als Herausforderung der künstlerischen 22 Interview with Amine Haase 1982, Cf. Richter, Text, technischen Reproduzierbarkeit. Drei Studien zur Avantgarde, Cologne 2009, p.116. 2008, p.127. Kunstsoziologie, Frankfurt 1963, p.19. 6 Cf. also Klaus Honnef, Gerhard Richter, Reckling 23 Asked by Wolfgang Pehnt, if one could permanently 38 Gudrun Inboden, “Das Grau und die Aura. hausen 1976, p.14. In addition, Honnef speaks of the articulate indifference, a refusal to testify, and an Malerei im Zustand des Verschwindens,” in: ping-pong principle of choice of subject and absence of opinion, Richter replied in 1984: “You exhib. cat. Always There, Galerie Max Hetzler, emphasizes two characteristics: contradictoriness cannot always do that, then you can only hang Berlin 2008, p.42. and indecision. yourself, to exaggerate. So you cannot live that way. 7 Marlis Grüterich especially focused on the phe- You have to have an opinion. Despite all the beauty nomenology of gray images. Cf. Marlis Grüterich, that the (gray) pictures had, they also had to do 5. glass and mirrors “Gerhard Richters Phänomenologie der Illusion— with articulated powerlessness. That’s why I was so Eine gemalte Ästhetik gegen die reine Malerei,” comfortable with the Cage saying, ‘I have nothing 1 Richter, Atlas, 2006, No. 27. in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Bilder aus den to say, and I am saying it.’“ Richter, Text, 2008, p.137. 2 The Spanish Nudes (CR 150) can be recognized just Jahren 1962–1974. Kunsthalle Bremen 1975–6, And to Coosje van Bruggen he said: “It was the like Two Women (CR 147/1), 5 Doors I (CR 158), pp.94–5, 98. ultimate possible statement of powerlessness and Diana (CR 155), Eight Student Nurses (pl. 29), and 8 Cf. Stefan Germer, “Retrospective Ahead,” in: desperation. Nothing, absolutely nothing left, no several other works, mostly from 1967. exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Tate Gallery, London figures, no color, nothing.” Cf. Coosje van Bruggen, 3 Gerhard Richter, Zeichnungen 1964–1999, Werk 1991–2, p.29. “Gerhard Richter. Painting as a Moral Act,” in: verzeichnis, ed. Dieter Schwarz. Kunstmuseum 9 The amazingly broad spectrum of paint application, Artforum, May 1985, p.88. Winterthur and Richter Verlag Düsseldorf 1999, in which are manifested versatility and the joy of 24 In 1985, Richter stated: “I mentioned Malevich only No. 65/12–13; No. 66/1–7. experimenting, are, to some degree, contradictory to say that paintings are always illusionistic. If you 4 Cf. Dieter Schwarz, ”Alles sehen, nichts begreifen,” to Richter’s statement that the gray images don’t see anything in Malevich’s Black Square, then in: Gerhard Richter, Zeichnungen, ibid., p.19. contained indifference and a lack of meaning. the painting would only be a stupid black spot.” 5 Gegenverkehr, Aachen, Zentrum für aktuelle Kunst, In some cases, so said Julia Friedrich, the paintings Richter, Text, 2008, p.1556. And in 2002 he said: catalog 3/69, fig. 81 (3 reproductions). seemed “most eloquent.” Cf. Julia Friedrich, “We only find paintings interesting because we 6 Gerhard Richter, Zeichnungen, ibid., No. 69/4. Grau ohne Grund. Gerhard Richters Monochromien als always search for something that looks familiar to 7 Exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Bilder / Paintings 1962–1985, Herausforderung der künstlerischen Avantgarde. us. . . . that’s how Malevich and Ryman work as well. ed. Jürgen Harten. Cologne 1986, No. 160, fig. p.67. Cologne 2009, p.104. You can interpret the Black Square of Malevich as 8 Cf. Julia Gelshorn, Aneignung und Wiederholung. Bild- 10 H. D. Buchloh in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, much as you like, but it remains a provocation; you diskurse im Werk von Gerhard Richter und Sigmar Polke, Abstract Paintings. Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, are compelled to look for an object and to come up Munich 2012, p.106. Eindhoven, and Whitechapel Art Gallery, London with one.” Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.426. 9 Gerhard Richter, Zeichnungen, ibid., No. 65/12, 13; 1978–9, p.19. 25 Ryman had further solo exhibitions at Konrad No. 66/1–8. 11 Richter, Text, 2008, p.67. Fischer in 1969, 1973, 1980, 1987, 1992, and 2001. 10 Gerhard Richter, Zeichnungen, ibid., No. 66/8. 12 Richter, Text, 2008, pp.91–2. 26 Robert Ryman was one of the artists represented 11 Richter, Text, 2008, p.14.—Richter here refers to 13 Jürgen Harten, “Der romantische Wille zur by Konrad Fischer, to whom Richter felt related, the first sentence in Klee’s contribution to the Abstraktion,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Bilder/ as he stated in an interview with Irmeline Lebeer volume Schöpferische Konfession of 1920, published Paintings 1962–1985, Cologne 1986, pp.40–41. in 1973. Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.80. Richter later by Kasimir Edschmid. Cf. Paul Klee, Schriften. 14 Kai-Uwe Hemken, Gerhard Richter, 18. Oktober 1977. repeated this on several occasions. Richter, Text, Rezensionen und Aufsätze, ed. Christian Geelhaar, Eine Kunst-Monographie. Frankfurt 1998, p.54. 2008, pp.173, 180. Cologne 1976, p.118: “Kunst gibt nicht das Sichtbare 15 Hal Foster, “Schein im Sinne Gerhard Richters,” in: 27 Hubertus Butin, “Gerhard Richters Editionen und wieder, sondern macht sichtbar.”

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12 Richter, Text, 2008, p.65. Deutsche Werkbundausstellung Cöln 1914, eds. Wulf 55 Cf. on this extremely condensed representation of 13 “The more I think about acts of seeing and repre- Herzogenrath, Dirk Teuber, Angelika Thiekötter, the mirror stage Hal Foster, The Return of the Real, senting, the more awesome seems the dialogue that Cologne 1984, p.134. MIT Press 1996, pp.208–9. we conduct between external complexity of almost 30 Adolf Behne wrote: “No material overcomes mat- 56 Michel Foucault, Die Ordnung der Dinge. Eine Archä infinite variety and the pull of our perceptional sys- ter so fully as glass. Glass is a completely new, pure ologie der Humanwissenschaften (1966). Frankfurt tem towards simple patterns of coherence at every material in which matter is melted down . . . it has 1978, p.462. , conceivable scale.” Cf. Martin Kemp, Seen—Unseen. wealth of possibilities as regards color, shape, and 57 “It is not images, ideas or lines of verse which Art, Science, and Intuition from Leonardo to the Hubble quality.” In: Robin Schuldenfrei, Luxury and Modern- the mythical voice of the Muse breathes into the Telescope. Oxford University Press 2006, p.322. ism: Architecture and the Object in Germany 1900– writer, it is the great logic of symbols and great 14 Julia Gelshorn, Aneignung und Wiederholung. Bild 1933, (1st edition 1920) Princeton, N.J. 2018, p.240. empty forms which allow him to speak and to oper- diskurse im Werk von Gerhard Richter und Sigmar Polke, 31 Prange, ibid., p.84. ate . . . the same language tends to circulate every- Munich 2012, p.106. 32 Buchloh, Gerhard Richters “Acht Grau,” ibid., p.23. where in literature and even behind itself . . . there 15 Robert Lebel, Duchamp.Von der Erscheinung zur 33 Walter Benjamin, Illuminationen. Ausgewählte are no longer either poets or novelists: there is no Konzeption. Cologne 1962, p.97. Since only a photo- Schriften, ed. Siegfried Unseld, Frankfurt. 1961, longer anything but writing.“ Roland Barthes, Criti- graphic reproduction of the Pane of Glass was exhib- p.316.—And in another place he stated: “This has cism and Truth, New York 1987, pp.23 and 29. What ited in Krefeld, one may wonder whether reading now been achieved by Scheerbart with his glass, was proclaimed for literature was supposedly also the book by Lebel could have inspired Richter’s and by the Bauhaus, with its steel. They have creat- true for painting, only it soon became apparent conception of the 4 Panes of Glass. ed rooms in which it is hard to leave traces.” Walter that structuralism could not be transferred one-to- 16 Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Gerhard Richter: Benjamin, ”Experience and Poverty,” (1933) in: one to the other medium. Gläserne Revolte,” in: Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, Selected Writings, vol. 2, part 1; ed. Michael W. 58 Cf. Martin Jay, Downcast Eyes. The Denigration of Scheiben und Strips von Gerhard Richter, Cologne Jennings, Harvard (see note 26), pp. 731–736 Vision in Twentieth-Century French Thought, Berkeley, 2013 (Schriften des Gerhard Richter Archiv 34 Cf. on this Gottfried Boehm, “Die Wiederkehr der Los Angeles, London 1994. Dresden, vol. 10), p.7. Bilder,” in: Was ist ein Bild?, ed. Gottfried Boehm, 59 Umberto Eco, Über Spiegel und andere Phänomene 17 One needs to mention here Picabia’s watercolor Munich 1994, p.21. (1985). 7th ed. Munich 2002, p.38. representation of a centrally divided pane, hung 35 Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Eye and Mind, ed. James 60 Jean-François Lyotard, “Wo bestimmte Trenn from two posts, which seemed to be mobile and M. Edie, translated by Carleton Dallery, Evanston wände als potentielle Junggesellenelemente could apparently oscillate. Labeled as “Gabrielle 1964. Revised by Michael Smith, The Merleau-Ponty einfacher Maschinen betrachtet werden,” in: Buffet,” the sheet in the Graphics Collection in the Aesthetics Reader, ed. Galen A. Johnson, Evanston Junggesellenmaschinen / Les machines célibataires, Staatsgalerie Stuttgart carried the added phrase: 1993. ed. Harald Szeemann, Venice 1975, pp.104 ff. “Elle corrige les mœurs en riant/Le fidèle Picabia.” 36 Richter, Text, 2008, p.70. 61 Gertrud Koch, “The Open Secret. Gerhard Richter Fig. in: Dada and Surrealism Reviewed, ed. Dawn Ades, 37 Gerhard Richter, Zeichnungen, ibid., No. 76/12–14; and the Surfaces of Modernity,” in: Gerhard Richter, London 1978, p.52. 77/1–6. Editions DisVoir. Paris 1995, p.22. 18 Jürgen Harten, “Der romantische Wille zur 38 Cf. Harten, ibid., p.54. 62 Richter, Text, 2008, p.312. Abstraktion,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Bilder 39 Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Gerhard Richter: 63 Josep Quetglas, Der gläserne Schrecken. Mies van der 1962–1985, Cologne 1986, p.34. Gläserne Revolte,” in: Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, Rohes Pavillon in Barcelona, Basel, Boston, Berlin 19 Hubertus Butin, “Gerhard Richter. Die Lust der Scheiben und Strips von Gerhard Richter, Cologne 2013 2001, p.101. Reflexion,” in: exhib. cat. Die Maler und ihre Skulp- (Schriften des Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden, 64 Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, Gerhard Richters “Acht turen, Cologne 1997, p.301. vol. 10), p.14. Grau,” ibid., p.20. 20 Hubertus Butin, “Gerhard Richters Editionen und 40 Three large gray mirrors (CR 735/1–3; pl. 57) were 65 Hubertus Butin, “Gerhard Richter und die Re- die Diskurse der Bilder,” in: Gerhard Richter, Editionen created in 1991, roughly at the same time as differ- flexion der Bilder,” in: Gerhard Richter, Editionen 1965–2013, eds. Hubertus Butin, Stefan Gronert, ently colored works in glass (CR 737/1–2; pl. 58). 1965–2004, ibid., p.22. Thomas Olbricht, Ostfildern 2014, p.25. 41 Gerhard Richter, Zeichnungen, ibid., No. 78/6–10. 66 Gerhard Richter, Zeichnungen, ibid., Nr.76/10. 21 Cf. Gregor Stemmrich, “Gerhard Richter—Malerei 42 Elger, p.288. 67 Cf. Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, Scheiben und Strips von als Entzugserscheinung,” in: Gerhard Richter, 43 Gerhard Richter, Zeichnungen, ibid., No. 81/1. Gerhard Richter, Cologne 2013, Schriften des 6 Vorträge. Cologne 2007 (Schriften des Gerhard 44 Richter, Text, 2008, p.120. Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden, vol. 10, ed. Richter Archiv Dresden, vol. 1), p.118. 45 “Die Spiegelbilder widerlegten die von Baselitz Dietmar Elger, p.24, Note 1. 22 Gelshorn, ibid., p.107. lauthals aufgestellte Behauptung, dass Malerei als 68 In another drawing you can see a similarly narrow 23 Oskar Bätschmann, “Landschaft in Umschärfe,” in: Geste, als psychisches Dokument des Unbewussten, exhibition space, which is closed off by a cord. exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Landschaften, ed. Dietmar als Beweis des malerischen Virtuosentums, noch Here, two images are combined with a mirror, so Elger, Sprengel Museum, Hannover 1998–99, irgendeine Gültigkeit hätte.” Benjamin H. D. that at least one of the paintings is reflected in it. Ostfildern-Ruit 1998, p.25. Buchloh, Gerhard Richters “Acht Grau,” ibid., p.20. Other drafts during this phase also deal with spatial 24 Cf. Dieter Schwarz, “Glas, Streifen, Glas. Neue 46 So said Dietmar Elger: “Landschaft als Modell,” in: configurations in which gray panes, panes of glass, Werke von Gerhard Richter 2010–2013,” in: exhib. Gerhard Richter, Landschaften. Sprengel Museum and gray-painted wood panels or pictures are com- cat. Gerhard Richter, Streifen und Glas, Staatliche Hannover 1999, p.18. bined to demonstrate the dialectics of transparen- Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Galerie Neue Meister/ 47 Hubertus Butin, “Gerhard Richters Editionen und cy and opacity or of reflection and filtering. Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Cologne 2013, p.44. die Diskurse der Bilder,” in: Gerhard Richter, Editionen (Gerhard Richter, Zeichnungen, ibid., Nos. 76/11; 25 Klaus Krüger, “Der Blick ins Innere des Bildes. 1965–2013, eds. Hubertus Butin, Stefan Gronert, 76/12; 76/14). Ästhetische Illusion bei Gerhard Richter,” in: Thomas Olbricht, Ostfildern 2014, p.27. 69 Alberti already said that the mirror is insofar the Pantheon, 53, 1995, p.159. 48 Victor I. Stoichita, Das selbstbewusste Bild. Vom judge of the finished picture as “die nach der Natur 26 Richter, Text, 2008, p.277.—In 1993, Richter added: Ursprung der Metamalerei. Translated from the geschaffenen Dinge durch das Urteil des Spiegels “The mirrors, and even more the Panes of Glass, French by Heinz Jatho, Munich 1998, p.210. verbessert werden.” Cf. Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Der were also certainly directed against Duchamp, 49 Stoichita, ibid., p.209. Spiegel. Entdeckungen, Täuschungen, Phantasien. against his Large Glass . . . what interested me was 50 Gerhard Richter in conversation with Jan Thorn- Giessen 1986, p.12. going against all that pseudo-complexity. The Prikker, in: Gerhard Richter im Albertinum Dresden, ed. 70 Significantly, the studio photograph on the cover mystery-mongering, with dust and little lines and Galerie Neue Meister, Albertinum / Staatliche of the catalog of the 1986 retrospective exhibition all sorts of other stuff on top. I don’t like manufac- Kunstsammlungen Dresden. Cologne 2004, p.88. shows large abstract paintings in the background tured mystery.” Ibid., p.301. 51 Some fundamental explorations should be men- (CR 583/1; 557/2), a realistic Venice landscape on 27 Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, Gerhard Richters “Acht tioned here: G. F. Hartlaub, Zauber des Spiegels. the easel (CR 586/1; pl. 142), and in front of it and Grau”: zwischen Vorschein und Glanz, Deutsche Munich 1951; H. Schwarz, “The Mirror in Art,” in: on the chair, occupying the place of the artist, Guggenheim Berlin 2002, p.22. Art Bulletin, XV, 1952, pp.96 ff.; J. Baltrušaitis, Le a mirror. 28 Cf. Regine Prange, Das Kristalline als Kunstsymbol. Miroir. Paris 1978; Chr. L. Hart Nibbrig, Spiegelschrift. 71 Seen in this way, the mirror becomes an instrument Bruno Taut und Paul Klee. Zur Reflexion des Abstrakten Spekulationen über Malerei und Literatur. Frankfurt of self-criticism, which is concerned with historiciz- in Kunst und Kunsttheorie der Moderne. Hildesheim, 1987; Mark Pendergast, Mirror. A History of the ing the present and imagining it as a future past, Zürich, New York 1991 (Studien zur Kunst Human Love Affair with Reflection. New York 2003. and thus regarding the value or worthlessness of geschichte, vol. 63). 52 Louis Aragon, “Lewis Carroll en 1931,” in: Le sur the work in question as part of the overall oeuvre. 29 Adolf Behne, Die Wiederkehr der Kunst. Leipzig 1920, réalisme au service de la révolution, 3, 1931, pp.25–6. Cf. Philip Fisher, Making and Effacing Art. Modern here cited after: Kristiana Hartmann and Franziska 53 Pierre Mabille, “Miroirs,” in: Minotaure, 11, 1938, American Art in a Culture of Museums. Oxford Bollerey, “Das Glashaus von Bruno Taut,” in: p.66. University Press 1991, p.90. exhib. cat. Der westdeutsche Impuls 1900–1914, 54 Paul Eluard, “Dors,” in: Le surréalisme au service de la 72 John Berger, The Sense of Sight. New York 1986. Kunst und Umweltgestaltung im Industriegebiet. Die révolution, 1, 1930, p.2. 73 Julia Gelshorn, Aneignung und Wiederholung. Bild

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diskurse im Werk von Gerhard Richter und Sigmar Polke. October Files, No. 8, 2009, p.41. The inclusion of 7. installations Munich 2012, p.101. photographs of concentration camp inmates, in 74 Hubertus Butin, “Gerhard Richter. Die List der particular, would, however, according to Kai-Uwe 1 In the first half of the 1960s, only few paintings Reflexion,” in: exhib. cat. Die Maler und ihre Skulp- Hemken, interrupt the mere reflection of mass were created using colors. Cf. CR 8 (Neuschwanstein turen. Von Degas bis Richter, ed. Gerhard Finckh, media image culture and transform the Atlas into Castle, pl. 114), CR 11/1 (Mouth), CR 13a (Jet Fighter), Museum Folkwang Essen, Cologne 1997, p.302. an “artistic work of enlightenment.” Cf. Kai-Uwe CR 19 (Mustang Squadron, pl. 11), CR 29 (Woman with 75 Richter, Text, 2008, p.191. Hemken, Gerhard Richter, 18. Oktober 1977, Umbrella, pl. 27), CR 53 (Egyptian Landscape), CR 68 76 Richter in conversation with Jan Thorn-Prikker. Frankfurt and Leipzig 1998, pp.37–8. (Alfa Romeo), and others. Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.478. 14 Gregor Stemmrich, “Gerhard Richter—Malerei als 2 Cf. Richter, Atlas, No. 122, 123. 77 Richter in an interview with Jonas Storvse in 1991. Entzugserscheinung,” in: Gerhard Richter, 6 Vorträge, 3 Cf. Brydon Smith, Donald Judd, Catalogue Raisonné Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.272. eds. Dietmar Elger and Jürgen Müller, Cologne of Paintings, Objects, and Wood-Blocks 1960–1974, 78 Dieter Schwarz, “Wiederholung, Serie, Zyklus. Die 2007 (Schriften des Gerhard Richter Archiv National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa 1975, No. 30. Vervielfachung des Bildes bei Gerhard Richter,” in: Dresden, vol. 1, ed. Dietmar Elger), p.122. 4 The sheet (Atlas 289 t.l.) is additionally also of inter- exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Bilder/Serien, Fondation 15 When Richter created his first inventory of est because in the top left margin Richter captured Beyeler 2014, p.32. pictures in 1969—the precursor to his catalogue rai- the installation of Die beste Ausstellung Deutschlands, 79 Buchloh, Gerhard Richters “Acht Grau,” ibid., p.25. sonné—and started working on the Atlas, he not which he put on together with Konrad Lueg at the 80 Cf. Gerhard Richter, Zeichnungen, No. 66/5, 6. only applied Concept art practices but, in a way, Galerie Patio in Frankfurt in September 1966. The 81 Richter, Text, 2008, p.60. also art historical methods. For Stefan Gronert, kidney-shaped screen prints of Lueg and Richter’s 82 Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Gerhard Richter: therefore, this becomes a kind of camouflage, Great Pyramid (CR 131) can clearly be seen in Gläserne Revolte,” in: Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, whereby the resulting works of art—like the Atlas— their corner arrangement. In addition, the sketch Scheiben und Strips von Gerhard Richter, Cologne 2013 underline the respectability and alleged objectivity captures the serial arrangement of same-sized (Schriften des Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden, of the methods applied. As a result, Richter portraits, a sort of anticipation of 48 Portraits ed. Dietmar Elger, vol. 10), p.17. becomes the embodiment of a desperate swan (CR 324, 1–48; pl. 81, fig. 78) which were created song of a kind of painting that, from a semantic five years later. point of view, at least according to Buchloh, is to be 5 Dieter Schwarz, Gerhard Richter, Zeichnungen 1964– 6. the atlas regarded as having failed. Cf. Stefan Gronert, “Art 1999, Werkverzeichnis, Winterthur and Düsseldorf History as Art,” in: Gerhard Richter: Early Work, 1951– 1999, No. 68/17.—In December 2015, the sheet was 1 Gerhard Richter. Atlas van de foto’s en schetsen, 1972, eds. Christine Mehring, Jeanne Anne Nugent, with art gallery Sies and Höke in Düsseldorf. Hedendaagse Kunst, Utrecht Dec. 1–30, 1972. Jon L. Seydl, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los 6 Cf. Gerhard Richter, Zeichnungen, ibid., No. 68/16. 2 An accompanying booklet was published for the Angeles 2010, p.135. 7 Cf. Gerhard Richter, “Über Blinky Palermo” (2003), exhibition “Gerhard Richter, Atlas—Fotos und 16 Julia Gelshorn, Aneignung und Wiederholung. in: Richter, Text, 2008, p.450. 8 Entwürfe” (Informationen 5) with a contribution by Bilddiskurse im Werk von Gerhard Richter und Sigmar Cf. Palermo, To the People of New York City, eds. Helmut Heißenbüttel, “Gerhard Richter,” in: exhib. Polke, Munich 2012, pp.212–13. Lynne Cooke and Karen Kelly with Barbara cat. Gerhard Richter, Kunstverein Bremerhaven. 17 Richter, Text, 2008, p.163. Schröder, Dia Art Foundation, New York and 3 “Gerhard Richter, Atlas—Entwürfe, Fotografien, 18 Discussion with Tim Griffin 2001, Cf. Richter, Text, Düsseldorf 2009, fig. p.182. Skizzen,” April 4–Mai 1974. Cf. Laszlo Glozer, 2008, pp.373. 9 Cf. Christine Mehring, “Light Bulbs and Mono- “Die Vor-Bilder der Bilder,” in: Süddeutsche Zeitung, 19 Richter in discussion with William Furlong, chromes: The Elective Affinities of Richter and No. 97, Munich April 24, 1974, p.36. Jill Lloyd, Michael Archer, and Peter Townsend in Palermo,” in: Palermo, To the People of New York 4 Cf. exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter. Atlas der Fotos, 1988, Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.211, and in an inter- City, ibid., pp.45 ff. Collagen und Skizzen, Museum Haus Lange, Krefeld, view with Hans Ulrich Obrist in 1993, Cf. Richter, 10 Cf. Stella Baum, “Die frühen Jahre. Gespräche mit Feb. 8–March 14, 1976. Text, 2008, p.297. In this context, Richter mentions Galeristen,” in: Kunstforum international, Nov./Dec. 5 Exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter. Atlas der Fotos, Collagen his paintings Cathedral Corner (CR 629/1; 656/1; 1989. p.279. und Skizzen, ed. Fred Jahn, with a contribution by pl. 143) of 1987, which was based on a photograph 11 Richter, Text, 2008. p.420. Armin Zweite, Munich 1989. Aug 2–Oct. 22, 1989 he had taken three years earlier. Similar observa- 12 Elger, p.209. Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich; tions can be made in the Betty images (pl. 166, 13 Gerhard Richter, “Über Blinky Palermo” (2003), in: Feb. 14–April 16, 1990 Museum Ludwig, Cologne. fig. 118; pl. 167) and in the Arctic seascapes, Richter, Text, 2008, pp.465–6. 6 The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis exhibited which go back to photographs taken by the artist 14 Cf. Christine Mehring, “Richter’s Collaborations, the Atlas in spring of 1992; the Musée d’Art in 1972 during his two-week trip to Greenland, Richter’s Turns, 1955–1971,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Moderne de la Ville der Paris followed in fall of e.g. Seascapes, 1975 (CR 375–378), Ice from 1981 Richter: Early Work, 1951–1972, eds. Christine 1993; then came the Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle (pl. 135), Iceberg in Mist, and Iceberg, both from 1982 Mehring, Jeanne Anne Nugent, Jon L. Seydl, der Bundesrepublik Deutschland in Bonn from (CR 496/1–2; pl. 136). The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles 2010, p.111. December 1993 to mid-February 1994. 20 Cf. Atlas, pls. 769–783 with more than 200 photo- 15 Cf. Mehring, ibid., p.113. 7 Exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter. Atlas der Fotos, Collagen graphs. 16 Unlike Mehring, whose clever analysis I disagree und Skizzen, eds. Helmut Friedel and Ulrich Wilmes, 21 Richter, Text, 2008, pp.162. with in this crucial point when she writes: “In the Cologne 1997. April 8–June 21, 1998. The volume 22 Richter, Text, 2008, pp.119. end, however, the two integrated painting as contains a list of past exhibitions and lists the 23 Roland Barthes, La chambre claire. Note sur la Modernist and painting as finished in order to changes that were made over the years. Ibid., photographie, Paris 1980, p.18. reinvent the medium.” Ibid., p.111. pp.374 ff. 24 Barthes, ibid., pp.60–1. 17 Letter from Gerhard Richter to Birgit Pelzer dated 8 The 2006 edition was the basis for this publication: 25 Barthes, ibid., p.36. March 25, 1980, cited after Elger, pp.206–7. Gerhard Richter. Atlas, ed. Helmut Friedel, Cologne 26 Barthes, ibid., p.36. 18 Frank Stella, Questions to Stella and Judd: Interview 2006. The list of previous exhibitions of the Atlas 27 Barthes, ibid., p.55. by Bruce Glaser, ed. Lucy R Lippard. Cf. Minimal Art: is expanded here, ibid., pp.850 ff. 28 Barthes, ibid., p.102. A Critical Anthology, ed. by Gregory Battcock, 9 Cf. Stefan Gronert, “Art History as Art: A Survey,” 29 Barthes, ibid., pp.86–7. New York 1968, p.158. in: Gerhard Richter: Early Work, 1951–1972, 30 Barthes, ibid., p.109. 19 Elger, p.209. eds. Christine Mehring, Jeanne Anne Nugent, Jon 31 Interview with Rolf-Gunther Dienst 1970, 20 Thus Mehring in, “Richter’s Collaborations, L. Seydl, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.54. Richter’s Turns, 1955–1971,” in: Kat. Ausst Gerhard 2010, p.129. 32 Ibid., p.55. Richter, Early Work 1951–1972, eds. Christine Mehring, 10 Cf. Photography and Painting in the Work of Gerhard 33 Interview with Rolf Schön in 1972, Cf. Richter, Text, Jeanne Anne Nugent, Jon L. Seydl, The J. Paul Richter. Four Essays on ‘Atlas,’ eds. Manuel J. 2008, p.59. Getty Museum, Los Angeles 2010, p.111. Borja-Villel and José Lebrero Stals, Barcelona, 34 Werner Krüger, Wolfgang Pehnt, Künstler im 21 Cf. Gerhard Richter, “Über Blinky Palermo” (2003), Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona 1999; Gespräch, documenta-documente, Cologne 1984; in: Richter, Text, 2008, p.466; Christine Mehring, Gerhard Richter, Atlas, the Reader, eds. Iwona Blaswick here cited after Richter, Text, 2008, pp.138–9. “Light Bulbs and Monochromes: The Elective and Janna Graham, Whitechapel Gallery, 35 Interview with Benjamin H. D. Buchloh 1986, Affinities of Richter and Palermo,” in: Palermo, London 2003. Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.170. To the People of New York City, ibid., pp.68 ff. 11 Cf. Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Gerhard Richters 36 “The paintings are often even kitschy when I bring 22 Atlas, No. 262–4. ‘Atlas’: Das Archiv der Anomie,” in: exhib. cat. all the elements from myself into them, because 23 Much to the horror of the stonemasons at the Gerhard Richter 1993–4, vol. 2, pp.7 ff. I’m not just good and rational and all that, but I also Glyptothek, who at the time helped setting up the 12 Buchloh, ibid., p.15. put all the rubbish into them.” Cf. Coosje van pedestals at the Lenbachhaus. 13 Gertrud Koch, “The Richter-Scale of Blurr,” in: Bruggen, “Gerhard Richter. Painting as a Moral 24 According to Stefan Gronert, this was undoubtedly October, 62, fall 1992, pp.133 ff. Here cited after: Act,” in: Artforum, May 1985, p.91. a work contradictory within itself. Cf. Stefan

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Gronert, Gerhard Richter Portraits, Ostfildern2006 , Richter answered my question at the time about the interior of the Düsseldorfer Kunsthalle, where p.97. the author’s rights (Palermo was no longer alive), the artist had a solo exhibition in 1971. 25 Cf. Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Die Malerei am that from the start, it had been a communal project 60 Atlas, No. 122, 123. Ende des Sujets,” ch.3: “Geteiltes Gedächtnis: Zwei and that he therefore legitimately realized an adap- 61 On this see Hans Sedlmayr, Die Revolution der Skulpturen für einen Raum von Palermo,” in: tation to the changed spatial conditions. The deci- modernen Kunst, Hamburg 1955, p.26. A similar argu- exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, vol. 2, Bonn 1993, p.34. sive factor was, after all, the concept and not the mentation can also be found in his book, Der Verlust 26 Buchloh, ibid., p.35.—Even later, Buchloh would craftsmanship. This explanation was decisive at the der Mitte, Berlin 1956, pp.72 ff. Richter occasionally maintain that the sculptures continue the myth time for the project to acquire the sculptures. indicated that he partially agreed with Sedlmayr’s of exaggerated artistic claims, presenting them in 41 Dieter Honisch, “Zu den Arbeiten von Gerhard analysis at the time, but not with his conclusions. forms that had been depreciated by history. They Richter,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, 36th Venice See Richter, Text, 2008, p.177. therefore hardly represented the beginning of his- Biennale (German Pavilion) 1972, p.5.—The theme of 62 Julia Franck summarized the inherent ambiguity of torical insight. Cf. Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Divided the Biennale was “Works or Behavior.” many designs. According to her, all the sketched Memory and Post-Traditional Identity: Gerhard 42 Cf. exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Kunst- und Ausstel- rooms were soberly constructed and finite, whereas Richter’s Work of Mourning” (1996), in: October lungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn the paintings that were hung there, and that looked Files, No. 8, ed. Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, Cambridge 1993–4, vol. 3: Werkübersicht / Catalogue raisonné beyond the space, transmitted the hope of infinity (Mass.) and London 2009, p.83. 1962–1993, No. 324/1–48. with steam and ether, yet would turn out to be 27 Gerhard Richter, letter to Edy de Wilde dated 43 Cf. Richter, Atlas, No. 41. The fact that eventually deceptive. Cf. Julia Franck, Rede für Gerhard Richter, Feb. 23, 1975, in: Richter, Text, 2008, p.92. five works could not be hung is explained by the Schriften des Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden, vol. 9, 28 Cf. Wolf Jahn, “Gilbert & George ‘Living fact that the apse had space for thirteen pictures, ed. Dietmar Elger, Dresden 2012, p.8. Sculpture,’” 1969–70, in: Die Kunst der Ausstellung. but the opposite wall with the entrance door was 63 Cf. Richter, Atlas, No. 239 ff. Eine Dokumentation dreißig exemplarischer Kunstaus only sufficiently wide for eight pictures. 64 The fact that Richter had not only the classical stellungen dieses Jahrhunderts, eds. Bernd Klüser and 44 Susanne Ehrenfried, Ohne Eigenschaften. Das Portrait Avant-Garde, the Romanticism, and Revolutionary Katharina Hegewisch, Frankfurt and Leipzig 1991, bei Gerhard Richter, Vienna, New York 1997, p.60. art and its consequences in mind, but also included pp.190 ff. 45 Richter 1973 in an interview with Irmeline Lebeer, Baroque interiors in his reflections, can be seen in 29 Richter, Text, 2008, p.299. Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.79. Plate 223 of the Atlas. The trompe l’oeil on the 30 Richter, Text, 2008, p.379. 46 Cf. Ehrenfried, ibid., pp.43 ff. back wall of the room here reflects a richly fur- 31 Thus Mehring, “Richter’s Collaborations, Richter’s 47 In 1989, Richter expressed himself along those lines, nished interior of the late 17th century. Turns, 1955–1971,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, cf. Ehrenfried, ibid., p.46. Cf. also Richter, Atlas, 65 Jürgen Harten, ibid., p.51. Early Work 1951–1972, eds. Christine Mehring, pl. 289, where a series of same-sized portraits was 66 Atlas, No. 484. Jeanne Anne Nugent, Jon L. Seydl, The J. Paul sketched in 1966. 67 Cf. Atlas, No. 102–5. Getty Museum, Los Angeles 2010, p.113. 48 Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.63. 68 Elger, p.237. 32 Cf. Robert Storr, Gerhard Richter. Forty Years of Paint- 49 Richter to Susanne Ehrenfried 1990, cf. Ehrenfried, 69 Helmut Friedel, “Gerhard Richter, Paletten-Bilder,” ing, Museum of Modern Art, New York 2002, p.59. ibid. p.61. in: Helmut Friedel, Gerhard Richter, Rot, Gelb, Blau. 33 Cf. Robert Storr, “Interview with Gerhard Richter,” 50 Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Die Malerei am Ende Die Gemälde für BMW, Munich, Berlin, London, in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter. Forty Years of Painting, des Sujets,” ch.4: “Das Subjekt als Specimen,” in: New York 2007, pp.8 ff. Museum of Modern Art, New York 2002, p.300. – exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Kunst- und Ausstellung- 70 The paintings for the headquarters of BMW In the interview, Richter highlights the difference shalle, Bonn 1993, vol. 2, p.38. were created in 1973 (CR 345/1–3) and, measuring between his portraits and the works of Paolini, 51 Buchloh, ibid., p.39. 300 x 600 cm, are among the largest formats in which he characterizes as decorative play. “I sud- 52 During the MoMA interview with Robert Storr this period. Whether with these works, limited to denly understood how dead serious mine was. That (2002), the artist said that, rather, he saw the the primary colors, it was Richter’s concern to it was somehow inconsistent with the humour of father problem in the 48 Portraits. And that this express the restlessness and consternation that Pop Art. If it was humorous, it was that way in a was also a typical German post-war phenomenon. seized West German society after the terrorist tragic manner.” On May 15, 1984, Richter set up the “Most of our fathers were away in the war for a attack during the Olympic Games, is an open room with the two sculptures at the Lenbachhaus, long time, and they either didn’t return or they question. Cf. on this Robert Storr, “Worüber es and, on the same evening, the exhibition The Dream came back shattered and broken—and as perpetra- Gewissheit geben kann,” in: Helmut Friedel, of Orpheus was opened there, which also included tors . . . This,” he said, “creates a restlessness and Gerhard Richter. Rot, Gelb, Blau. Die Gemälde für works by Parmiggiani and Paolini. uncertainty that certainly helped me paint the 48 BMW, Munich, Berlin, London, New York 2007, 34 Cf. interview with Hans Ulrich Obrist, in: exhib. cat. men.” Richter, Text, 2008, p.502. To Nicholas Sero- p.74. Gerhard Richter, Bilder/Serien, Fondation Beyeler, ta, Richter said in 2011: “I missed both: the great 71 Robert Storr, ibid., p.74. Riehen/Basel 2014, p.95. role model father and his resistance.” He therefore 72 Atlas, No. 89–105. 35 La révolution surréaliste, No. 12, Dec. 15,1929, p.73. saw himself as an example of the fatherless genera- 73 The fee of 75,000 DM allowed Richter to fulfill 36 Cf. Mark Polizzotti, Revolution of the Mind: The Life of tion. Cf. “I had nothing to say, and I’m saying it.” a long-cherished dream and to buy a terraced André Breton, Boston 1995. Conversation between Gerhard Richter and Nich- house in the Brend’amourstrasse. Cf. Elger, p.238. 37 According to Hubertus Butin, meanwhile, with this olas Serota, spring 2011, in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Rich- 74 Barnett Newman, “Frontiers of Space,” interview work, Richter had pushed the artist’s validity claim ter, Panorama, Tate Modern, London; Neue with Dorothy Gees Seckler (1962), in: Barnett to such an extreme that it annuled itself, as it were. Nationalgalerie, Berlin; Centre Pompidou, Musée Newman, Selected Writings and Interviews 1925–1970. It was therefore not an affirmation, but a critique of national d’art moderne, Paris. Ostfildern 2011, Berkeley, CA, p.247. the artist’s exaggerated self-claim, as expressed in p.24.—As we know, Richter’s alleged father, Horst 75 Brief an Jean-Christophe Ammann, February 1973, this heroization and self-mythization. Cf. Hubertus Richter, who had been a soldier from 1939–45, was in: Richter, Text, 2008, p.71. Butin, “Gerhard Richter. Die List der Reflexion,” barred from the teaching profession after the end 76 This may also recall Barnett Newman’s reaction. in: exhib. cat. Die Maler und ihre Skulpturen. Von of the war because he had been a member of the For when critics and artists panned his exhibition Degas bis Richter, ed. Gerhard Finckh, Museum NSDAP. He had to work as an unskilled laborer for at the Betty Parsons Gallery, where in early 1950, Folkwang Essen, Cologne 1997, p.306. many years. Richter never met his biological father. alongside other works, he showed Vir Heroicus Subli- 38 Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Einheimisch, Unheimlich, Cf. Elger, pp.11 ff.—Alexander Mitscherlich’s book mis, which at 242 x 541 cm dominated the exhibi- Fremd: Wider das Deutsche in der Kunst?” in: Auf dem Weg in eine vaterlose Gesellschaft was pub- tion space and granted viewers no distance to exhib. cat. “von hier aus.” Zwei Monate neue deutsche lished in 1963. contemplate it, Newman commented as follows: Kunst in Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf 1984, p.170. 53 Buchloh, ibid., p.45. “There is a tendency to look at large pictures from 39 On the “Präsenzleistung der Re-Präsentation,” cf. 54 MoMA interview with Robert Storr 2002, a distance. The large pictures in this exhibition are Gottfried Boehm, “Repräsentation—Präsentation— Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.421. intended to be seen from a short distance.“ Cf. Präsenz. Auf den Spuren des homo pictor,” in: 55 Ibid., p.422. Barnett Newman, Selected Writings and Interviews Homo pictor, ed. Gottfried Boehm, Leipzig 2001 56 Cf. Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, p.107. 1925–1970, Berkeley 1992, here cited after Temkin, (Colloquium Rauricum, 7), pp.3–13. 57 Cf. Atlas, No. 219–252. Barnett Newman, p. 178. 40 As an immediate participant, I cannot fully confirm 58 Jürgen Harten, ibid., p.51, pointed out, moreover, 77 Cf. Barnett Newman, ibid., p.173. Gerhard Richter’s memories, as recalled by him in that in 1970, Richter (Atlas, No. 151) had visited 78 Helmut Friedel, “Wandlungen: Camouflage und 2003 (Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.520). The decision the grounds of the Nuremberg Rallies and taken Land-Art.” Stories on the topography of the terrain to have the walls of the cabinet of the Lenbach- photographs there. And let us note that a snap of of the Summer Olympics (1972) and of the BMW haus—which is no longer available as a result of the Albert Speer’s mosaic hall of the New Reich Chan- headquarters (1973) in Munich, where Rot/Gelb/ conversion by Norman Foster—painted in yellow cellery also found its way into the Atlas (No. 132). Blau found their place, in: Helmut Friedel, Gerhard with white edges, following the Cologne model, 59 In some cases, Richter refers to specific spatial Richter. Rot, Gelb, Blau. Die Gemälde für BMW. had already been made in advance. As I remember, situations, as in Atlas, No. 245, which reproduces Munich, Berlin, London, New York 2007, p.124.

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79 Cf. exhib. cat., Junge Kunst in Deutschland—privat 106 Cf. Buchloh, ibid., p.67. 2007,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter—Zufall, ibid., gefördert, ed. Dieter Honisch, Kölnischer Kunst 107 Cf. Kunst im Reichstagsgebäude, on behalf of the pp.67 ff. verein, Nationalgalerie Berlin, Städtische Galerie German Bundestag, eds. Götz Adriani, Andreas 143 Assunto, ibid., p.97. im Lenbachhaus Munich, Berlin 1982–3. Kaernbach and Karin Stempel. Cologne 2002. 144 Assunto, ibid., p.98. 80 Richter, Atlas, No. 218–252. 108 Atlas, No. 635–46. 145 One can only be glad that Richter did not pursue 81 Cf. Elger, pp.273 ff. 109 Cf. Atlas, No. 647–9. the project of designing the choir windows of 82 Cf. Julia Gelshorn, Aneignung und Wiederholung. 110 Elger, p.369. the Cathedral of Reims, for his designs of Novem- Bilddiskurse im Werk von Gerhard Richter und Sigmar 111 Richter to David Galloway: “Quick-Change- ber 20, 2005 would have been also located in Polke, Munich 2012, p.143. Master,” in: Artnews, March 2002, p.107. Here cited unfortunate proximity to the windows by Chagall. 83 Cf. Elger, p.278. after Elger, p.369. Instead of Richter, Imi Knoebel has taken up this 84 Richter, Text, 2008, p.119. 112 Ulrich Herbert, Geschichte Deutschlands im 20. Jahr great challenge and realized his ideas in 2011. 85 Cf. Elger, pp.282 ff. hundert, Munich 2014, p.1,195. 146 This is how Richter referred to the work in an 86 Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, pp.116 ff. 113 Ulrich Herbert, ibid., p.1,201. interview with the magazine Die Zeit, No. 52, 2015. 87 Richter, Text, 2008, p.117. 114 Atlas, Nos. 650, 651. 147 Cf. Gerhard Richter, 14 Panes of Glass for Toyoshima, 88 Richter, Text, 2008, p.117. 115 Atlas, No. 652. dedicated to futility, Wako Works of Art, with contri- 89 Richter, Text, 2008, p.117. Subliminally, a personal 116 Atlas, No. 655. butions from Sumi Hayshi (“Gerhard Richter, Toy- motive may have played a role. The messenger of 117 Cf. Elke Kania, “Malerei ist bunt. Gerhard Richters oshima Project”) and Dietmar Elger (“Images in the the Gods and the Goddess of love may also serve Farbtafeln,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Ohne Plural, Gerhard Richter’s 14 Standing Panes for Toy- here, according to Elger, as representatives of both Farbe. Museum Franz Gertsch, Burgdorf 2005, p.92. oshima”), Tokyo 2016. artists, who only a few months earlier had begun 118 Cf. Barbara Rose, “ABC-Art,” in: Art in America, 148 Cf. Richter, Atlas, 2006, Nos. 784 f. a love affair. Cf. Elger, p.117. vol. 53, No. 5, Oct.-Nov. 1965, pp.57 ff. See also: 149 Important information about the island and the 90 Richter, Text, 2008, p.118. Minimal Art. Eine kritische Retrospektive, ed. Gregor project can be found in an essay by Sumi Hayashi, 91 Richter, Text, 2008, p.119. Stemmrich, Dresden, Basel 1995, pp.280 ff. “Gerhard Richter. Toyoshima Project,” ibid., 92 Gerhard Richter, Zeichnungen, No. 86/2–17. The 119 Richter, Text, 2008, p.351. pp.70 ff. draft character of the sheets is evident. It is hardly 120 Cf. exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter: Acht Grau, Deutsche 150 Cf. Dieter Schwarz, “Glas Streifen Glas. Neue surprising, however, that none of the drawings has Guggenheim Berlin, Berlin 2002, pp.114–15. Werke von Gerhard Richter 2010–2013,” in: exhib. a greater affinity with the executed paintings, which 121 Gabriele Brandstetter, “Figuration der Unschärfe. cat. Gerhard Richter: Streifen & Glas. Staatliche again demonstrates that the final conception of the Der (un)beteiligte Betrachter,” in: Texte zur Kunst, Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Galerie Neue Meister, pictures was only discovered during the working 58, 2005, p.76. Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Cologne 2013, pp.41 ff. process itself. At any rate, the sequence of the 122 Cf. Richter, Atlas, No. 737. The project described there has in the meantime drawings, which is a special case in the oeuvre, 123 Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Gerhard Richters Acht (as of Jan. 2016) been altered considerably and shows how certain preliminary considerations led Grau. Zwischen Vorschein und Glanz,” in: exhib. reduced in size. to the clarification of the pictorial idea. cat. Gerhard Richter, Acht Grau, Deutsche Guggen- 151 As Dietmar Elger quite rightly emphasizes. Cf. 93 Richter, Atlas, Nos. 486–9. heim Berlin. Ostfildern-Ruit 2002, p.21. Dietmar Elger, “Images in the Plural. Gerhard 94 Cf. Atlas, Nos. 233–7. 124 Cf. Thomas Lange, Dickicht des Materials, Gradnetz Richter’s 14 Standing Panes for Toyoshima,” ibid., p.75. 95 Twenty years later, that is in 2006, Richter recalls in des Bildes. Palermo, Bildidee und Werkbegriff. Worms 152 Ibid., pp.8, 9.—Evidently, Richter worked with a an interview with Hans Ulrich Obrist: “In contrast 2000, pp.171 ff. module of 180 cm. The clear height of the room to other large pictures that were planned, that is, 125 Cf. Note 123. is 360 cm, the width 540 cm. For the vanishing executed according to a design, these two were 126 Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Gerhard Richters ‘Acht point there is a height of about 150 cm, that is, the painted completely free, without a sketch, without Grau,’” ibid., pp.15–16. height of the base (55 cm) plus half the size of the a photograph. That was a bit reckless, just to paint 127 Julia Fischer, Grau ohne Grund. Gerhard Richters pane (95 cm). However, the shadow gap on the away like that.” Cf. Richter, Text, (reprinted only in Monochromien als Herausforderung der künstlerischen ground and the height of the steel spars on the the German edition) 2008, p.539. The findings, Avantgarde, Cologne 2009, p.93. base are disregarded here, so one might have to that is, especially the exactly painted tube elements, 128 Cf. Gottfried Boehm, “Zuwachs an Sein. Herme- assume about 160 cm. seem to partially contradict that. neutische Reflexion und bildende Kunst,” in: Hans- 153 After all, the illustrations in the aformentioned pub- 96 Katharina Hegewisch, “Dem Leben eine Bühne Georg Gadamer, Die Moderne und die Grenze der lication give an impression of this work, which, in bauen,” in: Oswald Mathias Ungers, Gerhard Richter, Vergegenständlichung, ed. Bernd Klüser, Munich contrast with any other painting, only reveals itself Sol LeWitt. Hypo-Bank, Niederlassung Düsseldorf, 1996, p.98. when, in situ, one relates to each other inside and Königsallee 17, Munich 1991, pp.7–13. 129 Boehm, ibid., p.101. outside, near and far, architecture and object, art 97 Art. Das Kunstmagazin, No. 6, June 1992, p.34. 130 Gerhard Richter im Albertinum Dresden, Galerie Neue and nature, reality and its mirror image. Because of their oversize and the associated trans- Meister, Albertinum / Staatliche Kunstsammlungen 154 Cf. Richter, Räume, in: Atlas, Nos. 221 ff. port and insurance costs, Jan Hoet together with Dresden, Cologne 2004, pp.62–73. 155 Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, p.65. the artist opted for an alternative. 131 Richter, Atlas, No. 745. 156 Cf. Remain in Naoshima. Naoshima Contemporary 98 CR 752/1–3; CR 756/2–4; CR 757; CR 760/1–4; 132 Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, November 19, 2003, Art Museum, eds. Yuki Akimoto, Kumiko Ehara, CR 762/2–4; CR 764/2; CR 765. No. 269, p.N2. Okayama 2000. 99 Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Gerhard Richter und die 133 Richter, Atlas, No. 746, 748. 157 Ren Fukuzumi, “Beyond Art, Before Art—Christian Allegorie des abstrakten Kabinetts,” in: exhib. cat. 134 Notizen 1962, Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.14. Boltanski ‘Les Archives du cœur,’” in: Naoshima Gerhard Richter, Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der 135 On the genesis of the new cathedral window Note, No. 2, August 2011, pp.14–15. Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn 1993, vol. 2, p.67. cf. Barbara Schock-Werner, “Das neue Fenster 158 The information is taken from the brochure 100 Buchloh, ibid., p.68. als Teil der historischen Domverglasung. Zur published on the occasion of the inauguration. 101 Buchloh, ibid., p.71. Genese eines Entwurfs,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Cf. Gail Kirkpatrick and Marcus Lütkemeyer, 102 Brian O’Doherty, Inside the White Cube. The Ideology Richter—Zufall, das Kölner Domfenster und 4900 Gerhard Richters Zwei graue Doppelspiegel für ein of the Gallery Space (1976), San Francisco 1986. Farben, Museum Ludwig and Metropolitankapitel Pendel, 2018, Einführung; and Roland Szostak, 103 Brian O’Doherty, ibid., p.80. der Hohen Domkirche Köln, Cologne 2007, Das Foucault’sche Pendel. Geschichte und Funktion, 104 Brian O’Doherty, ibid., p.15. In his 1986 epilogue, pp.21 ff. Münster 2018, n.p. O’Doherty wants to limit his observations of a 136 Hubertus Butin, “Gerhard Richters Kölner Dom 159 The largest gasometer in Europe, in Oberhausen/ “fleeting and dangerous art” to the period between fenster,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter—Zufall, das Ruhr, has since 1993 been used as an exhibition 1964 and 1976, and a form of art that has disap- Kölner Domfenster und 4900 Farben, Museum Ludwig venue for contemporary art (Christo and Jeanne- peared from consciousness, which is to be under- and Metropolitankapitel der Hohen Domkirche Claude, Bill Viola, Christina Kubisch, and others) stood as the result of the mechanisms of “our Köln, Cologne 2007, p.46. and cultural-historical projects, and clocks up to culture.” Brian O’Doherty, ibid., p.91. 137 Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.525. one million visitors a year. 105 Cf. the exchange of arguments between Helmut 138 Cf. Barbara Schock-Werner, ibid., pp.28 ff. 160 Named after the French physicist F. Charron, who Friedel, who hung the works of the Blaue Reiter 139 Interview with Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, 1986, in a publication in 1931 analyzed and described the on strongly colored walls in red, blue, and yellow cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.182. operating modus of such a ring under a suspended at the Lenbachhaus in Munich in 1992, and Uwe 140 Cf. Rosario Assunto, Die Theorie des Schönen im pendulum. M. Schneede, which, in the light of Modernism, Mittelalter, Cologne 1963, p.96. 161 Gudrun Inboden, “Das Grau und die Aura. Malerei emphatically advocated a white gallery space as a 141 Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, p.84. im Zustand des Verschwindens,” in: exhib. cat. means of projection for the viewer’s imagination. 142 Cf. especially Birgit Pelzer’s subtle analysis of the “Always There,” Galerie Max Hetzer, Berlin 2008, “Dürfen die Bilder auf farbige Wände?” in: Art. Das cathedral window and 4,900 Colors. Cf. Birgit Pelzer, p.42. Kunstmagazin, No. 6, June 1992, pp.82–5. “Der Zufall als Partner. Gerhard Richters Farbfelder 162 With regard to his early designs for extensive spa-

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tial studies, Richter said in 1985 in an interview with 21 Gelshorn, ibid., p.30. space of painting, to make a whole out of it, and Dorothea Dietrich: “Oh, yes, that is such a dream 22 Cf. Klaus Krüger, “Der Blick ins Innere des Bildes. everything else seems inappropriate.” Cf. Richter, of mine—that the pictures will become an environ- Ästhetische Illusion bei Gerhard Richter,” in: Text, 2008, p.419. ment or become architecture; that would be even Pantheon, 53th year, 1995, p.164. 46 Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, pp.135–6. more effective.” Richter, Text, 2008, p.154. 23 Cf. Walter Grasskamp, Der vergessliche Engel. 163 https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foucaultsches_ Künstlerporträts für Fortgeschrittene, Munich 1986, Pendel. Last edited Nov. 5, 2018. pp.55–6. 9. landscapes 164 Cf. Umberto Eco, Das Foucaultsche Pendel, 22nd ed. 24 Gelshorn, ibid., pp.60–61. Munich 2015, p.11. 25 This in the interview with Nicholas Serota, in: 1 Cf. Landschaftsmalerei, ed. Werner Busch, Berlin 1997 165 Cf. among others Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Deus. exhib. cat. Panorama, National Galerie Berlin et al. (Geschichte der klassischen Bildgattungen in Quellentex- Eine Geschichte von Morgen, Munich 2018, pp.584 ff. 2011, p.15. ten und Kommentaren, vol. 3), p.328. 166 Walter Benjamin, Gesammelte Schriften, vol. V/1, 26 Gerhard Richter in conversation with Hans Ulrich 2 Robert Storr, Gerhard Richter, Forty Years of Painting. Das Passagen-Werk, ed. Rolf Tiedemann, Frankfurt Obrist. Cf. exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter Bilder/Serien, The Museum of Modern Art, New York 2002, p.53. 1982, p.578. Fondation Beyeler 2014, p.96. 3 Richter in an interview with Dorothea Dittrich in 167 Harari, ibid., p.608. 27 Richter, Text, 2008, p.87. Accordingly he says in his 1985. Cf. Text, 2008, p.146. comments on the paintings from 1991: “I was drawn 4 Dietmar Elger, “Landschaft als Modell,” in: exhib. to the theme of the Annunciation by the feeling cat. Gerhard Richter, Landschaften. Sprengel Museum, 8. pictorial reflections on the that if anything could be intimated to me, it would Hannover 1999, p.22. status of the artist be absolutely fantastic.” Richter, Text, 2008, p.269. 5 The sheets were published only half a century 28 Cf. Dieter Schwarz, “Wiederholung, Serie, Zyklus. later: Gerhard Richter, Elbe. 31 Monotypien. 1957, 1 Cf. Richter, Atlas, Nos. 44 and 45. Die Vervielfachung des Bildes bei Gerhard Richter,” Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden, Cologne 2009. 2 The second German artist, Friedrich Gräsel, was in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Bilder/Serien, In 2012, edition 155 followed. represented in the outdoor space with his sculpture Fondation Beyeler 2014. p.19. 6 For example, reference has to be made to a sheet Tor und Doppelwinkel. 29 The view that art in a differentiated world is a from 1957, on which a group of trees with hanging 3 There were a total of six exhibitions between 1960 surrogate for religious experience, assuming the figures can be seen in silhouette. Reproduced in and 1996. Cf. Friedrich Meschede and Guido de task of an “inner-worldly salvation,” dates back to Elger, p.31. Werd (ed.), Mit der Möglichkeit gesehen zu werden. Max Weber. (Cf. Max Weber, Gesammelte Aufsätze 7 Ingrid Misterek-Plagge, Kunst und Fotografie und die Dorothee und Konrad Fischer: Archiv einer Haltung. zur Religionssoziologie, Tübingen 1988 [first published frühen Fotogemälde Gerhard Richters (Form & Interesse, Düsseldorf 2010, p.312. in 1920], pp.555–6.) vol. 39), Munich and Hamburg 1992, p.255. Richter 4 Elger, pp.228 ff. 30 Cf. Klaus Krüger, Grazia. Religiöse Erfahrung und cannot have used the source indicated in the cata- 5 Stefan Gronert, Gerhard Richter, Portraits, Ostfildern ästhetische Evidenz, Göttingen 2016, p.129. logue raisonné vol. 1, p.62 (the cover photograph of 2006, and Paul Moorhouse, Die Porträts von Gerhard 31 Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, p.80. Stern magazine, dated August 13, 1963), because he Richter, Cologne 2009, discuss both the depictions 32 Cf. exhib. cat. A New Spirit in Painting, organized already showed the painting on the occasion of an of Brigid Polk and those of Gilbert & George. by Christos M. Joachimides, Norman Rosenthal, academy tour in Düsseldorf in February 1963. 6 Richter, Atlas, Nos. 62 and 63 Nicholas Serota, Royal Academy of Arts, London 8 In 1990, Richter stated in an interview with Sabine 7 Cf. also Stefan Gronert, Gerhard Richter, Portraits, 1981. Schütz: “The real-life castle is a hideous monstrosi- Ostfildern 2006, p.102. 33 See the MoMA interview with Robert Storr, 2002. ty. But it does also have this other, seductive side to 8 As, for example, in Imitation of Christ, Bike Boy, and Richter, Text, 2008, p.428. it, that of the beautiful fairytale, the dream of sub- The Loves of Ondine. 34 The photographic originals are based on pictures limity, bliss, happiness—and that’s the dangerous 9 Cf. for example Cecil Beaton’s group photographs published in the magazine Stern, No. 38, 1974; cf. part; that’s why it’s a very special case of kitsch.” of Warhol’s Factory, in which the Brigid Polk poses Richter, Atlas, 2006, No. 133. Richter, Text, 2008, p.253. half-naked. Cf. exhib. cat. Andy Warhol Photography, 35 Elger, 2008, p.231. 9 Cf. the special publication: Bassenge, Auktion 100. Hamburger Kunsthalle and The Andy Warhol 36 Elger, 2008. p.231. Moderne Kunst, I, December 1, 2012, Lot. 8345. Museum, Pittsburgh 1999, pp.358–9. 37 Jürgen Harten, “Der romantische Wille zur Berlin 2012, pp.4–12 (author unknown). 10 Cf. The Factory, ed. Alberto Anaut, Madrid 2012 Abstraktion,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Bilder / 10 Cf. exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Bilder / Paintings 1862– (publication in cooperation with Photo España), Paintings 1962–1985, Kunsthalle Düsseldorf and 1985, ed. Jürgen Harten on the occasion of the pp.38–9. other places, 1986, p.49. exhibition in Düsseldorf, Berlin, Bern, and Vienna 11 Cf. Corinna Thierolf, “Gerhard Richters ‘Brigid 38 Stefan Gronert, Gerhard Richter, Portraits, Ostfildern 1986, with a catalogue raisonné edited by Dietmar Polk,’” in: Königsklasse III, Gerhard Richter ‘Brigid Polk,’ 2006, p.98. Elger. Cologne 1986, No. 10; Werkübersicht / Cata- ed. Corinna Thierolf. Contemporary art from the 39 Cf. Volker Kahmen, Fotografie als Kunst, Tübingen logue Raisonné 1962–1993, vol. III of the exhibition Pinakothek der Moderne at Herrenchiemsee Castle 1973, fig. 258. catalog for Gerhard Richter, Musée d’Art Moderne 2015, pp.22 ff. 40 Cf. Alexander Rodtschenko, Fotografien 1920–1938, de la Ville de Paris; Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der 12 Brigid Polk: Polaroids and Tapes, Galerie H. Friedrich, ed. Evelyn Weiss, Cologne 1978, p.120. Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn; Moderna Cologne (November, 6–20, 1970) and Galerie H. 41 Sigmar Polke (and Bice Curiger), Photographien. Museet, Stockholm; Museo Nacional Centro de Friedrich, Munich (November 24—December 12, Paris 1971, Cologne 1989. Arte Reina Sofiá, Madrid 1993–4, No. 10. 1970) Cf. Andy Warhol Photography, ibid., pp.286–7. 42 Cf. Richter, Atlas, No. 58–61. 11 Ingrid Misterek-Plagge, ibid., pp.236 ff. and 13 Cf. Atlas, No. 46, 47, 70. 43 Hubertus Butin states in his essay “Unbekannte figs. 64, 65. 14 On the origin of polaroids cf. Sabine Knust, “Brigid Fotoarbeiten von Gerhard Richter” that the actual 12 Cf. Uwe M. Schneede, “Kommentiertes Verzeichnis Polk in Munich,” in: Königsklasse III, ibid., p.40. artistic achievement in image construction is to be der ausgestellten Werke,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard 15 Klaus Krüger, “Der Blick ins Innere des Bildes. found in the medium of photography, without Richter. Bilder einer Epoche, Ausstellung and Katalog Ästhetische Illusion bei Gerhard Richter,” in: which the paintings could not have been created. by Uwe M. Schneede, Bucerius Kunst Forum, Pantheon, 53, 1995, p.157. In: Stefan Gronert, Gerhard Richter, Portraits, Ostfil- Hamburg 2011, Munich 2011, p.197. 16 In 2003, Richter recalled: “There was this party at dern 2006, pp.211 ff. . p.215. 13 Cf. Richter, Atlas, 2006, No. 10. Six’s [meaning Six Friedrich, the wife of the gallery 44 Cf. Gilbert & George, The Complete Pictures 1971–1985, 14 Misterek-Plagge, ibid., p.240. owner], with Brigid Polk—the fat lady from the CAPC Musée d’Art Contemporain de Bordeaux, 15 Dietmar Elger, “Landschaft als Modell,” in: Gerhard Warhol Factory. And then the three of us got Kunsthalle Basel and elsewhere, 1986–7, Dark Richter, Landschaften, ed. Dietmar Elger. Sprengel undressed and jumped about naked. We just did Shadow No. 1 and No. 6, fig. pp.67–8. From March Museum, Hannover. Hannover 1999, p.10. our little performance and got dressed again. That 17 to April 17, 1974, Fischer had exhibited examples 16 Richter, Text, 2008, p.567. Richter had still hoped to was for the benefit of the others, so they had from the Human Bondage series, among other find a safe place for this assignment in 1993. He was something to shriek about. We didn’t do anything; works, while Dark Shadow was on show at Art & wrong, however, because the picture was auctioned we were just naked. Brigid always made ‘tit prints’ Project in Amsterdam and then at the Nigel in London in December 1998 for £2 million. of her breasts.” Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.452. Greenwood Gallery in London, also in 1974. Elger Cf. Elger, p.181. 17 In conversation with Gislind Nabakowski in 1974, already pointed out this connection, p.279. 17 Cf. Gerhard Richter, Catalogue Raisonné, vol. 1, p.338. Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.86. 45 In his MoMA interview with Robert Storr, Richter 18 Cf. Atlas, 119. Richter has chosen the section of his 18 Interview with Gislind Nabakowski, in: Richter, Text, said: “I can’t explain why I have such an aversion to template so that the main traffic axis crossed his 2008, p.87. collages. To me it always seemed cheap, and it was painting from bottom left to top right, while two 19 Richter, Text, 2008, p.86. too sloppy, too loose. I always wanted to make a smaller routes marked the corresponding counter- 20 Julia Gelshorn, Aneignung und Widerholung. Bild painting. “Asked by Storr, “What is the appeal of movement. Thus, the entirety of the composition is diskurse im Werk von Gerhard Richter und Sigmar Polke. making a painting, in this sense?,” Richter replied: held together in a way that the photographic tem- Munich 2012, p.35. “Well, it is somehow my duty and my task to fill the plate is not.

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19 Atlas, No. 112, the first picture in the second row, Geschichte Deutschlands, Vienna 2013 (Grazer Edition, 57 “Ganz und gar ohne das anschauliche Moment although the square marked with pencil lines is vol. 13, ed. Johann Konrad Eberlein), p.98. jedoch wäre die Kunst einfach eins mit der Theorie, misleading. Rather, Richter has based his represen- 28 His daughter Babette was born in 1966, his mother während sie doch offensichtlich in sich ohnmächtig tation on an enlarged section that had been shifted died in 1967, and in the year after, his father com- wird, wo sie . . . ihre qualitative Differenz vom to the right and down. Therefore, only one tower mitted suicide; Konrad Lueg had become a gallery diskursiven Begriff ignoriert.” Adorno, Aesthetic The- of the Frauenkirche is shown in the painting in the owner in 1967 and his relationship with Polke ory, p.95. lower left corner; diagonally above it is the tower of cooled noticeably. Cf. Jenni-Preihs, ibid., p.118. 58 The difference is stressed between perceiving an the city hall, and almost at the upper edge of the 29 Ulrich Herbert, Geschichte Deutschlands im 20. object and seeing an image, so that the viewer picture, just to the right of the center, the Isartor. Jahrhundert, Munich 2014, p.857. becomes an active part in establishing meaning. The painting thus does not exactly represent the 30 Herbert, ibid., p.859. Cf. Stefan Germer, “Retrospective Ahead,” in: square which is marked out on the Atlas plate. 31 Elger, p.144. exh. cat. Gerhard Richter, Tate Gallery, London 20 With regard to his Alpine paintings, which have a 32 Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, p.73. 1991–2, p.27. similar ductus, Richter commented in an interview 33 In an interview with Robert Storr in 2002, 59 Gerhard Richter in conversation with Wolfgang with Rolf-Gunter Dienst in 1970: “I no longer felt cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.390. Pehnt (1982), in: Werner Krüger, Wolfgang Pehnt, like painting those soft photo-pictures. Perhaps I 34 A charcoal drawing on primed canvas (No. 68/8) Documenta-Documente, Künstler im Gespräch, also wanted to correct the false impression that I with identical dimensions as the corresponding Cologne 1984, pp.125–6. had adopted an aesthetic viewpoint. I don’t want to painting (CR 201, pl. 118) seems to indicate that 60 “Richter was crossing Friedrich with Palermo see the world in any personal way. I have no aes- Richter initially attempted to graphically prepare to make the Seascapes.” Cf. Mark Godfrey, thetic problem, and the technique of making is the oil painting, but did not pursue this route and “Damaged Landscapes,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard immaterial. There’s no distinction between the instead chose another way of transferring the Richter—Panorama. Tate Modern, London, National- paintings, and I would like to change my method as photograph to a large format. galerie, Berlin, Centre Pompidou, Paris, p.82. often as appropriate.” Richter, Text, 2008, p.56. 35 Cf. Robert Storr, “Forty Years of Painting,” in: 61 Comments on some of the pictures were made in 21 Richter, Text, 2008, p.53. exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter. Forty Years of Painting, 1991, during preparations for the Richter exhibition 22 Richter was said to have confirmed this much later, Museum of Modern Art, New York 2002, p.67. at the Tate Gallery in London. Cf. Richter, Text, in 1991, when he thought that the picture reminded 36 The photographic starting point can be found in 2008, pp.263. him of the destruction of Dresden. Cf. “Gerhard the Atlas, No. 171 (center). 62 Cf. Richter, Atlas, No. 184–198. Richter im Gespräch mit Sean Rainbird,” in: exhib. 37 Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, pp.66. 63 Seascape (Contre-jour) (CR 233) should be refer- cat. Gerhard Richter, Tate Gallery, London 1991, p.126. 38 Cf. Joachim Ritter, “Landschaft. Zur Funktion des enced to Atlas, No. 191. 23 Richter, as he emphasized in 1991, found the model Ästhetischen in der modernen Gesellschaft” (1962), 64 Julia Gelshorn, Aneignung und Wiederholung. Bild- in an architectural journal. “They were also mini- in: Ritter, Subjektivität. Sechs Aufsätze, Frankfurt 1974, diskurse im Werk von Gerhard Richter und Sigmar Polke. malist in a certain way. In this painting the model pp.150–51. Munich 2012, p.125. does not fit together—there is a sense of disconti- 39 Ritter, ibid., p.155. 65 Jürgen Harten, “Der romantische Wille zur nuity about the image. I think very few of the paint- 40 Ritter, ibid., p.161. Abstraktion,” in: Gerhard Richter, Städtische Kunst ings after architectural models are successful, with 41 Ritter, ibid., p.162. halle Düsseldorf 1986, p.42. The model for this the exception of this one. I was able in this painting 42 Ritter, ibid., p.162. painting of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin can to achieve a sense of presence. I put the paint on 43 Cf. Robert Rosenblum, Die moderne Malerei und die be found in the Atlas, No. 194. very thickly in black and white, creating with the Tradition der Romantik. Von C. D. Friedrich zu Mark 66 Julia Franck, Rede für Gerhard Richter, Schriften des two a gray. It was quite musical, almost like a Rothko, Munich 1981, p.137, where Richter is refer- Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden, ed. Dietmar Elger, fugue.” Richter, Text, 2008, p.263. enced. Dresden 2012, p.10. 24 Cf. Elger, pp.180 ff.—On his cityscapes, Richter 44 “Turner introduced a new era in landscape art, by 67 Mark Godfrey, “Damaged Landscapes,” in: said in 1985: “They were horrible, like newly built showing that the foreground might be sunk for the exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter—Panorama, Tate Modern, housing developments, so inhuman, revolting. distance, and that it was possible to express imme- London; Nationalgalerie, Berlin; Centre Pompidou, They looked as if they had been bombed, though diate proximity to the spectator, without giving Paris 2012, p.83. they were normal cities. But I never said that I anything like completeness to the forms of the near 68 Godfrey, ibid., p.84. meant anything with them.” Coosje van Bruggen, objects. This, observe, is not done by slurred of soft 69 Richter, Atlas, No. 201 ff. “Gerhard Richter. Painting as a Moral Act,” in: lines (always the sign of vice in art), but by a deci- 70 Cf. Johannes Stückelberger, “Mapping the Sky. Artforum, May 1985, p.86. Harten follows this assess- sive imperfection, a firm, but partial assertion of Wolkenkartographie in der Meteorologie und bei ment and sees in the illustrations “bombed instead form, which the eye feels indeed to be close home Gerhard Richter,” in: exhib. cat. Wolkenbilder. Die of flourishing cities” and speaks of “atomic oblitera- to it, and yet cannot rest upon, nor cling to, nor Erfindung des Himmels. Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau tion” or “terrible emptiness of designed urbanity.” entirely understand, and from which it is driven 2005, Munich 2005, pp.163 ff. Cf. Harten, ibid., p.39. And in 1988, Richter then away of necessity to those parts of distance on 71 Cf. inter alia Hubert Damisch, Theorie der Wolke. Für said again about his Alpine paintings and cityscapes: which it is intended to repose.” In: Wolfgang Kemp, eine Geschichte der Malerei, Zürich, Berlin 2013. “Those were done when I no longer felt like doing The Desire of My Eyes: The Life & Work of John Ruskin, 72 Cf. Richter, Atlas, Nos. 218 ff. the figurative photo-pictures, and wanted a change New York, 1992, pp.111–2. 73 Some authors wanted to see the mountain pictures from the unequivocal statement, the legible and 45 Richter, Text, 2008, p.72. understood as a direct examination of history and limited narrative. So I was attracted by those dead 46 Cf. Rolf Wedewer, “Zum Landschaftstypus bei National Socialism, for example Mark Godfrey, cities and Alps, which in both cases were stony Gerhard Richter,” in: Pantheon, year XXXIII, issue 1, “Damaged Landscapes,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Rich- wastes, arid stuff. It was an attempt to convey con- 1975, pp.45 and 49. ter—Panorama, Tate Modern, London; National tent of a more universal kind.” Interview mit Benja- 47 Hubertus Butin, “Gerhard Richter—ein deutscher galerie, Berlin, Centre Pompidou, Paris, 2011, p.79. min H. D. Buchloh, in: Gerhard Richter, Paintings, Romantiker?,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter und 74 Richter, Text, 2008, p.264. Chicago, Toronto 1988, p.21; here cited after: die Romantik, Kunstverein Ruhr, Essen 1994, p.15. 75 CR 405 based on Richter, Atlas, No. 363; CR 409 on Richter, Text, 2008, p.174. 48 Butin, ibid., p.26. Richter, Atlas, Nos. 364 or 363. 25 In an essay, Mark Godfrey points out that in a 49 Wedewer, ibid., p.43. 76 Richter, Text, 2008, p.72. review in the Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung in 1968, 50 Cf. inter alia Peter Sager, Neue Formen des Realismus. 77 Richter, Text, 2008, p.80. Ursula Binder-Hagelstange had made such a con- Kunst zwischen Illusion und Wirklichkeit, Cologne 1973. 78 Richter, Text, 2008, p.120. nection. Cf. Mark Godfrey, “Damaged Landscapes,” This is a comprehensive book and Gerhard Richter 79 Theodor W. Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, p.58. in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter—Panorama, Tate Mod- repeatedly refers to it. 80 Adorno, ibid., p.77. ern, London; Nationalgalerie Berlin; Centre Pompi- 51 Cf. Hal Foster, The Return of the Real. The Avant- 81 Adorno, ibid., p.80. dou Paris 2011–12, p.75. Richter himself then spoke Garde at the End of the Century, The MIT Press, 82 Richter, Atlas, 2006, Nos. 341–359. of his memories of war-ravaged Dresden in 1991 Cambridge, Mass., and London 1996, pp.141 ff. 83 Gerhard Richter, Eis (1973–81). Edizione Galleria (Richter, Text, 2008, p.262). 52 Cf. Eva Wattolik, Die Parodie im Frühwerk Roy Pieroni. Rom 1981. 26 Godfrey, ibid., p.77.—After 1945, the aerial war with Lichtensteins. Comic-Gemälde 1961–1964. Weimar 84 Elger writes on the subject: “His marriage was in its devastating consequences was as little discussed 2005, p.125. crisis, and the photographs he took in Greenland as the crimes of the National Socialist dictatorship. 53 Rolf Wedewer, ibid., p.49. were visual analogues for his own failed hopes. This changed in part with two publications that 54 Martin Jay, “Mimesis und Mimetologie: Adorno He was exhausted by the struggle to find his own appeared only much later: Alexander Kluge, und Lacoue-Labarthe,” in: Auge und Affekt, way as a husband and father, and felt that his Der Luftangriff auf Halberstadt am 8. April 1945 Wahrnehmung und Interaktion, ed. Gertrud Koch, dream of domestic happiness had, as a conse- (Frankfurt 2008) and W. G. Sebald, Luftkrieg und Frankfurt 1995, p.182. quence, been wrecked. ‘The project was also an Literatur (Munich 1999). 55 Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, p.96. excuse for getting away . . . Trouble in my marriage 27 Monika Jenni-Preihs, Gerhard Richter und die 56 Martin Jay, Mimesis und Mimetologie, ibid., p.193. was reaching a climax. Going into the ice could be

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interpreted as longing for a place where on feels safe‑ 108 Cf. Jacques Rancière, Das Unbehagen in der Ästhetik, among others, a very informative essay, dedicated just so long as there is no life, only ice,’ Richter says Vienna 2007, p.51. to Richter’s candles, by Helmut Friedel (“Gerhard today.” Elger, p.203 109 Ludolf-Camphausen-Strasse 36. Cf. for this and Richter, Kerze, 1982,” ibid., pp.11–21). 85 Elger, p.231. the offset print reproduction of the painting 12 Cf. Katrin Seidel, Motivgeschichte und Ikonologie, 86 Richter, Atlas, 2006, No. 333. Gerhard Richter, Editionen 1965–2013. Catalogue raison- Hildesheim, New York, Zürich 1996. Furthermore: 87 Cf. Sigmund Freud, Erinnern, Wiederholen und Durchar- né, eds. Hubertus Butin, Stefan Gronert, Thomas Katrin Schwarz, “Die Kerze: Geschichte eines Bild- beiten, in: Freud, Gesammelte Werke, vol. 10 (Werke aus Olbricht. Ostfildern-Ruit 2014, No. 73, p.242. The motivs,” in: exhib. cat. Die Kerze, ibid., pp.110 ff. and den Jahren 1913–1917), Frankfurt 1999, painting is based on a photograph by the artist. Georges Sturm, Die Seele der Kerze, ibid., pp.128 ff. pp.126 ff. 110 Christiane Vielhaber, Interview with Gerhard 13 For example in Nicolaus Taurellus, Emblematica 88 Paul Valéry, Windstriche, Frankfurt 1995, p.67. Richter, in: Das Kunstwerk, No. 4, 1986, p.43. Physic-Ethica, 1547, where a burning candle is given 89 Richter, Text, 2008, p.146. Cf. also Richter, Text, 111 Cf. Richter, Atlas, No. 659. the motto, “Aliorum absumor in usus.” Similarly, in 2008, p.120. 112 Richter took comparable photographs in New Gilles Corrozet, Hecaton-Graphie, 1543, with the 90 Cf. exhib. cat. Von hier aus. Zwei Monate neue deutsche York. Richter, Atlas, No. 658. motto “service dommageable,” or perishable ser- Kunst in Düsseldorf, ed. Kasper König, Cologne 1984, 113 The Hotel Waldhaus of Sils Maria, a fashionable vice. Cf. Emblemata. Handbuch zur Sinnbildkunst des pp.433 ff. place of hospitality and intellect, counts many 16. und 17. Jahrhunderts, eds. Arthur Henkel and 91 Richter, Text, 2008, p.162 (Note dated Oct. 12, 1986). celebrities among its past guests, including Theodor Albrecht Schöne, Stuttgart 1967, col.1363. 92 Richter, Text, 2008, p.163. W. Adorno, Thomas Bernhard, Joseph Beuys, 14 Cf. Gerhard Richter, Editionen 1965–2013, eds. 93 This is also how Mark Godfrey sees things. Cf. Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Albert Einstein, Samuel Hubertus Butin, Stefan Gronert, Thomas Olbricht, Godfrey, “Damaged Landscapes,” in: exhib. cat. Ger- Fischer, Otto Klemperer, Max Liebermann, Thomas Ostfildern 2014, Nos. 64, 66, 67. hard Richter—Panorama, Tate Modern, London, Nation- Mann, Ernst Rathenau, Max Reinhardt, Luchino 15 Cf. Hubertus Butin, “Gerhard Richter. Zwei Kerzen algalerie Berlin, Centre Pompidou Paris, 2012, p.87. Visconti, and last but not least Gerhard Richter. für Dresden,” in: Camera Austria international, 94 Julia Gelshorn, Aneignung und Wiederholung. Bild- 114 Robert Storr, Gerhard Richter: Forty Years of Painting, No. 50, 1995, pp.4 ff. diskurse im Werk von Gerhard Richter und Sigmar Polke. ibid., p.67. 16 Richter precisely did not, says Butin, paint a new Munich 2012, p.76. 115 In 2002, in an interview with his daughter Babette picture with the title “Two candles for the bomb 95 Richter, Text, 2008, p.158. Richter. Cf. Richter, Text 2008, p.448. victims of Dresden,” which would have been as 96 Richter, Text, 2008, p.276. 116 Hubert Butin, “Gerhard Richter und die Reflexion anachronistic as unimaginative, but instead opted 97 Richter, Text, 2008, p.277. der Bilder,” in: Gerhard Richter, Editionen 1965–2004, for the simple title Two Candles and so avoided the 98 “Natur ist . . . verschwenderisch ohne Maß, ohne eds. Hubertus Butin and Stefan Gronert. descent into artistic platitude. “Dass Richter auf der Absichten und Rücksichten, ohne Erbarmen und Ostfildern-Ruit 2004, p.70. Suche nach dem Gemeinsamen und Selbstver- Gerechtigkeit, fruchtbar und öde und ungewiss zugle- 117 Dieter Schwarz, “Zwei Landschaften von Gerhard ständlichen nicht im dafür prädestinierten Kitsch ich.” Friedrich Nietzsche, Jenseits von Gut und Böse, in: Richter,” in: Texte zu Werken im Kunstmuseum gelandet ist, belegt wieder einmal seine gratwan- Friedrich Nietzsche, Werke in drei Bänden, Winterthur. Düsseldorf 2000, p.242. dlerische Souveränität.” Cf. Butin, ibid., p.8. vol. 2, ed. Karl Schlechta, Munich 1966, pp.572–3.—For 118 Cf. Jacques Rancière, “Die Malerei im Text,” in: 17 CR 497/1 and 2; CR 499/1–4; 512/2, 3 (pl. 158) Nietzsche, nature is “absolute Notwendigkeit Rancière, Politik der Bilder. Berlin 2005, p.94. and CR 523/1 sowie CR 546/1. . . ., die ihr nicht vom subjektiven Verstand auferlegt 18 CR 513/1. wurde . . . der ewige Kreislauf der Dinge 19 CR 499/1–3 and CR 510/1. geschehe blind und ohne Rücksicht auf unsere 10. still lifes 20 CR 498/1–4. Vernunft (ewige Wiederkehr des Gleichen).” In der 21 Friedel speaks of Minimalism. His observation that Natur ist eine Notwendigkeit “im Spiele, die in der 1 Dieter Schwarz, above all, emphasized that genres the candle, or rather its flame, divides the picture Weise des blinden Fatums über unsere Köpfe und play an important role in Richter’s oeuvre. The both horizontally and vertically according to the unseren Verstand hinweg ihre unausweichlichen reference to a convention guarantees, after all, that golden ratio, fits with this only too perfectly (cf. Wege geht . . . Das Bewusstsein muss mit einer dün- Richter’s corresponding images can be read as a Friedel, ibid., pp.11–12), although I rather get the nen Eisdecke verglichen werden, die sich über der part of history. They deduct their differentiation impression that Richter would wish to avoid such a unermesslichen Tiefe der Natur und ihrer Gewalten from this fact and are able to remove themselves formalized harmony. Above all, one would have to befindet. Zwischen den großen Schriftzügen der from a purely subjective form of expression. Cf. agree on whether one refers to the size of the Natur und unserer kleinen Schrift besteht keine Dieter Schwarz, “Zwei Landschaften von Gerhard canvas or internal lines. In CR 511/3, which is at the Gemeinschaft.” Cf. Friedrich Kaulbach, “Natur,” Richter,” in: Texte zu Werken im Museum Winterthur, center in Friedel, the dark band on the right margin in: Historisches Wörterbuch der Philosophie, eds. ed. Dieter Schwarz, Düsseldorf 2000, p.229. appears so dominant that it is hard;y possible to Joachim Ritter and Karlfried Gründer, vol. 6, 2 On genre in general, cf. Claus Grimm, Stillleben. define a measuring point here, be it at the edge of Darmstadt 1984, col.477. Die niederländischen und deutschen Meister. Stuttgart, the picture or at the edge of the shadow. 99 Monika Jenni-Preihs, Gerhard Richter und die Zürich 1988; Norbert Schneider, Stillleben. Realität 22 CR 545/1–4; CR 547/1 (pl. 157); CR 548/1–2 Geschichte Deutschlands. Vienna 2013 (Grazer Edition, und Symbolik der Dinge, Cologne 1989; Sybille (pl. 155). These works have caused irritation. For vol. 13, ed. Johann Konrad Eberlein), p.133. Ebert-Schifferer, Geschichte des Stilllebens. Munich Buchloh, the paintings are especially convincing in 100 Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, p.129. 1998.—Speziell zur amerikanischen Kunst: Two their “quality as grotesques,” by demonstrating in 101 Cf. exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Übermalte Fotografien, Centuries of American Still Life Painting: The Frank and an incomparably brilliant manner the technical fea- ed. Markus Heinzelmann, Museum Morsbroich, Michelle Hevrdeijs Collection. New Haven, London: sibility of these pictorial types as an absolute given Leverkusen 2008–9 and Centre de la Photographie, Yale University Press 2016; for a philosophical and at the same time devaluing every real-historical Genève 2009. examination of genre cf. inter alia Kerstin Thomas, experience of these pictorial types. Cf. Buchloh, 102 Gottfried Boehm, Wie Bilder Sinn erzeugen. Die Macht “The Still Life of Objects. Heidegger, Schapiro, and “Gerhard Richter: 18. Oktober 1977,” in: exhib. cat. des Zeigens. Berlin 2007, p.49. Derrida reconsidered,” in: Zeitschrift für Ästhetik und Gerhard Richter, vol. 2, Bonn 1993, p.51. 103 Maurice Denis, Théories. Du symbolisme au classicisme. Allgemeine Kunstwissenschaft, vol. 60/1, 2015, pp.81– 23 In Barthélémy Aneau, Picta Poesis, 1552, one can find Paris 1964, p.55. 102; on the contemporary discourse cf. inter alia the motto ex maximo minimum (The greatest shall be 104 Cf. Jacques Rancière, “Die Malerei im Text,” in: Bettina Gockel (ed.), Vom Objekt zum Bild: Piktorale the smallest), the picture of a skull and a few bones, Rancière, Politik der Bilder. Berlin 2005, p.95. Prozesse in Kunst und Wissenschaft 1600–2000, Berlin and the caption, translated here: “These now are 105 Rancière, ibid., p.92. Although one has to ask oneself 2011 (Zürich Studies in the History of Art). the remains of the temple where the living image whether such an epiphany comes about only because 3 Cf. Ulrich Pohlmann, Stilles Leben 1910–2008: Wenn of God was supposed to have been. This is also the the visible is dependent on the word. This is what die Dinge träumen; Stillleben aus der Sammlung ruin of the house where reason once resided. And Rancière says elsewhere: “der Eroberung Fotografie des Münchner Stadtmuseums, Munich now it is the terrible picture of death, an airless des Raumes durch etwas, das die Unterwerfung des 2008. head without a brain.” Cf. Emblemata, ibid., col.997. Sichtbaren unter das Sichtbarmachen des Wortes 4 Fig. in Elger, p.28. 24 Otterlo, Rijksmuseum Kröller-Müller. überschreitet. Diese Überschreitung offenbart das dop- 5 Fig. in Elger, p.40. 25 Cf. Ingvar Bergström, Dutch Still-life Painting in the pelte Spiel der Repräsentation: auf der einen Seite 6 Richter, Text, 2008, p.33. Seventeenth Century, London, New York 1956, p.15. macht das Wort sichtbar, es benennt, beschwört das 7 Richter, Text, 2008, p.22. 26 Some pictures only reproduce the skull in “normal Abwesende herauf, entschleiert das Versteckte. Doch 8 Richter, Text, 2008, p.33. position” (CR 545/1–4; CR 548/1, 2; pl. 155), while dieses Sichtbarmachen funktioniert tatsächlich nur 9 Atlas, No. 308 bottom, left of center. in the Atlas, there are also two photographs show- durch die eigene Abwesenheit, seine eigene Zurück- 10 Cf. Astrid Kasper, Gerhard Richter. Malerei als Thema ing the skull in this position, with one or two can- haltung.” (p.132). der Malerei, Berlin 2003, p.115. dles (Atlas, No. 397, t. l. and r.). 106 Cf. Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, p.255. 11 Cf. exhib. cat. Die Kerze. Ein Motiv in der zeitgenössi 27 Richter, Atlas, No. 397, bottom left. 107 Martin Seel, Ästhetik des Erscheinens. Munich 2000, schen Kunst, ed. Helmut Friedel, Museum Frieder 28 Cf. Martin Seel, Aesthetics of Appearing, Stanford, p.39. Burda, Cologne 2016. The publication contains, CA 2005.

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29 Thus, for example in Kirchner, Beckmann, Picasso, Individuum. Über den Ursprung der Porträtmalerei in der 29 Cf. Stefan Gronert, Gerhard Richter, Portraits, Magritte, and others Cf. Katrin Schwarz, ibid., italienischen Renaissance, Munich 1986, p.25. Ostfildern 2006, p.55. pp.118 ff. 12 On the genre problem in contemporary art cf. inter 30 Richter in a conversation with Astrid Kasper in 30 These are ink drawings of skulls that point to Picas- alia: Abbild. Recent Portraiture and Depiction, ed. Peter 2000, Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.368. so in their abbreviated form language. Cf. Elger, Pakesch, Vienna/New York 2001; exhib. cat. Porträt 31 Richter, Text, 2008, p.22. p.33 and fig. p.40. ohne Antlitz. Abstrakte Strategien in der Bildniskunst, 32 Ehrenfried, ibid., pp.173–4. 31 Françoise Gilot, Carlton Lake, Life with Picasso, New Kunsthalle zu Kiel 2004. 33 Elger, p.93. To name a few examples: Portrait York 1964, p.182. 13 Gerhard Richter. Portraits, National Portrait Gallery, Luntz (CR 48/3), portraits of Hans-Jürgen Müller 32 Joan Sutherland Boggs, “Picasso et les choses,” London, February 26–May 31, 2009. Cf. Paul Moor- (CR 71), Karl Ströher (CR 72), Prof. Zander (CR 81), in: exhib. cat. Picasso & les choses. Les natures mortes, house, Gerhard Richter Portraits: Painting Appearances, Wasmuth (CR 104/2), the Hötzel family (CR 105), Paris 1992, p.20. National Portrait Gallery, London 2009. and others. 33 Richter, Text, 2008, p.129. 14 Paul Moorhouse, “Die Porträts von Gerhard 34 Gronert, ibid., p.51. 34 Thus in the MoMA interview with Robert Storr Richter. Erscheinungen malen,” in: exhib. cat. 35 The topic was frequently discussed and worked 2002. Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, pp.417. Die Porträts von Gerhard Richter, National Portrait through at the beginning of the 1970s. Cf. exhib. 35 Thomas Mann, Doktor Faustus, Das Leben des Gallery, London 2009, Cologne 2009, p.16. cat. Malerei nach Fotografie. Von der Camera obscura deutschen Tonsetzers Adrian Leverkühn erzählt von 15 The two equally large representations (60 x 50 cm) bis zur Pop Art, ed. J.A. Schmoll gen. Eisenwerth. einem Freunde (1947), Frankfurt 1960, p.194. show the politician in casual clothes in a park-like Münchner Stadtmuseum, 1970; exhib. cat. Combat- 36 Gerhard Richter, Editionen 1965–2013, Nos. 70, 76, 77. landscape. The environment is identical in both timento per un’immagine. Fotografi e pittori, Turin, 37 Martin Seel, Aesthetics of Appearing, Stanford, cases, only Kühn is a bit farther away in the second Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna 1973; exhib. cat. CA 2005, p.118. picture and much more blurry, that is, he is, in fact, Malerei und Photographie im Dialog, ed. Erika Billeter, 38 Seel, ibid., p.191. rendered unrecognizable. The photographs are also Kunsthaus Zürich 1977. 39 Cf. Gerhard Richter, Editionen 1965–2013, deliberately amateurish, showing nothing of the 36 Cf. J. A. Schmoll gen. Eisenwerth, “Lenbach und die Nos. 102–106. significance of the person. The client was not satis- Photographie,” in: exhib. cat. Franz von Lenbach 40 “La rose est fresche et fletrie en un jour, Sa grád fied with the result and returned both works. 1835–1904, eds. Rosel Gollek and Winfried Ranke, beauté est en bref téps perdue: Viellesse aussi sans Several years later, Georg Meistermann had a Munich 1986, pp.63 ff. faire long seiour, Ride la peau (au parauant) similar experience with his portrait of Willy Brandt, 37 Gronert, ibid., p.65. tendue.” Quatrain in: Guillaume de La Perrière, who had commissioned it three years after his 38 Gronert, a.a O., p.104. La Morosophie, 1553. Cf. Emblemata, ibid., p.290. resignation as Federal Chancellor. A“modern” 39 Gronert, ibid., p.105. 41 Richter, Atlas, 2008, No. 527 bottom. portrait, apparently it was not accepted mainly due 40 Cf. Spiegel, No. 39, Sep. 19, 1966. 42 To Astrid Kasper Richter said in 2000 that his to its alienating effects. https://de.wikipedia.org./wiki/Lis_Kertelge. flowers are actually always staged. Cf. Richter, Text, 16 Cf. Hubertus Butin, “Gerhard Richters Film ‘Volker Read Jan. 30, 2018. 2008, p.377. Bradke’ und das Prinzip der Unschärfe,” in: 41 bz-Berlin, 15.3.2012. https://de.wikipedia.org./wiki/ 43 Richter, Text, 2008, p.303. Gerhard Richter “Volker Bradke,” 1966, Cologne 2010 Lis_Kertelge. Read Jan. 30, 2018. 44 Cf. Klaus Krüger, “Double Vision—Multiple Evidenz,” (Schriften des Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden, 42 Cf. Gronert, ibid., p.84. in: exhib. cat. Double Vision. Albrecht Dürer / vol. 6, ed. Dietmar Elger), p.27. Bradke was probably 43 Cf. Robert Rosenblum, “Andy Warhol: Hofmaler William Kentridge, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, too harmless a part of the scene to think that der 70er Jahre,” in: exhib. cat. Andy Warhol, Bilder Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe 2015–16. Munich Richter’s event—a mix of performance and exhibi- 1961 bis 1981, ed. Carl Haenlein, Kestner-Gesellschaft, 2015, p.14. tion—might have been directed only against him as Hannover 1981, p.105. a person. The actual aim was rather an ironic take 44 Two graphic editions of 1966 and 1968 represent on the art business. Warhol’s dictum that everyone not only the British Queen Elizabeth II, of whom 11. portraits could become famous for 15 minutes is here exem- a painting exists (CR 168), but also Mao Zedong. plified by Richter’s one-day exhibition at Schmela. Cf. Gerhard Richter, Editionen 1965–2013, eds. 1 Cf. “Bildnis,” in: Lexikon der Kunst, ed. Harald Olbrich Bradke, honored for hours with banners, photo- Hubertus Butin, Stefan Gronert, Thomas Olbricht, et al., vol. 1, Leipzig 1987, p.558. graphs, film, and large-format portrait, will the day Ostfildern 2014, Nos. 7, 8, 13. The painting Mother 2 Hans-Georg Gadamer, Truth and Method. Grundzüge after be just the hopeless fan and probably soon be and Daughter (B) (CR 84, pl. 28), shows Brigitte einer philosophischen Hermeneutik, reprint edition forgotten. Even though by 1966, Richter no longer Bardot with her mother, although in a way that New York, London 2013, p.148. had to fear that this might happen to himself, lin- does not reveal her identity at first glance. 3 Ibid. gering doubts about his own lasting success were 45 Buchloh emphasizes that, after Cubism, portrait 4 Here I am following explanations by Daniel probably still constant companions, so that the painting was virtually in ruins. Cf. Benjamin H. D. Spanke. Cf. Daniel Spanke, Porträt—Ikone—Kunst. project might subliminally also have had an autobi- Buchloh, “Residual Resemblance. Three Notes on Methodologische Studien zum Porträt in der Kunst ographical aspect. the End of Portraiture,” in: exhib. cat. Face-Off. The literatur. Zu einer Bildtheorie der Kunst, Munich 17 Gronert, ibid., pp.55–6. Portrait in Recent Art, Institute of Contemporary Art, 2004, pp.412–13. 18 Elger, p.63. University of Pennsylvania. 1994, p.54–5. 5 Gottfried Boehm, “Zuwachs an Sein. Hermeneuti 19 Cf. on this Hubertus Butin, “Unbekannte Foto 46 Richter, Text (interview with Babette Richter), 2008, sche Reflexion und bildende Kunst,” in: Hans- arbeiten von Gerhard Richter,” in: Stefan Gronert, p.454. Georg Gadamer, Die Moderne und die Grenze der Gerhard Richter, Portraits, Ostfildern2006 , pp.209 ff. 47 Cf. Ehrenfried, ibid., p.182. Vergegenständlichung, ed. Bernd Klüser, Munich 20 Cf. Elger, pp.353–4. 48 Kaja Silverman, “Betty,” in: exhib. cat. documenta 12, 1996, p.106. 21 Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, p.132. Cologne 2007, p.104. 6 Axel Hinrich Murken, “Auf der Suche nah der 22 Cf. Dietmar Elger, “Porträt Dr. Knobloch. Gerhard 49 Ibid., p.104. Wirklichkeit. Das Menschenbildnis im künstleri- Richters Malerei als Schein,” in: Patrimonia, No. 344, 50 “By placing his daughter’s head on a chopping schen Werk von Gerhard Richter,” in: Die Kunst und publ. by the Kulturstiftung der Länder together block, Richter also exposes the similarities linking das schöne Heim, 89, January 1977, pp.29 ff. as well as with the Gerhard Richter Archiv, Staatliche him to Meinhof’s executioners.” Cf. Kaja Silverman, Murken and Christa Murken-Altrogge, “Künstler— Kunstsammlungen Dresden 2009, pp.9 ff. Flesh of My Flesh, Stanford University Press 2009, die wichtigsten Leute der Welt. Betrachtungen zum 23 Elger, p.98. p.195. Menschenbildnis Gerhard Richters,” in: Deutsches 24 Cf. Christoph Heinrich, “‘Es war der Apparat, der 51 Silverman, ibid., p.199. Ärzteblatt—Ärztliche Mitteilungen, year 74, April 7, die Arbeit machte’. Bildnisse aus der Photobooth,” 52 Silverman, ibid., p.208. 1977, pp.967 ff.; April 14, 1977, pp.1,039 ff.; April 21, in: exhib. cat. Andy Warhol Photography, Hamburger 53 Richter, note from March 17, 1986, in: Richter, Text, 1977, pp.1,101 ff. Kunsthalle and The Andy Warhol Museum, 2008, p.160. 7 Susanne Ehrenfried, Ohne Eigenschaften. Das Porträt Pittsburgh 1999, pp.84 ff. 54 Cf. Atlas, No. 445. bei Gerhard Richter, Vienna, New York 1997. 25 Cf. the letter to René Block dated Aug. 17, 2000, 55 Richter, Editionen, No. 75. 8 Gerhard Richter. Portraits, Museumsberg Flensburg, where he says: “I was only half convinced [to paint 56 According to Buchloh La Baigneuse de Valpinçon May 7–July 9, 2006. the picture], which is why the painting is not only by Ingres may well have been an inspiration. 9 Stefan Gronert, Gerhard Richter, Portraits, with a half done, but also only half good.” Richter, Text, Cf. Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Die Malerei am contribution from Hubertus Butin, Ostfildern 2006. 2008, p.360. Ende des Sujets,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, 10 Gronert, ibid., p.46. 26 Richter, Text, 2008, pp.45–6. Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle, Bonn 1993, vol. 2, 11 Cf. Ehrenfried, ibid., p.28, where, with reference 27 Richter in a letter to his friend Wieland Förster p.55. to Gottfried Boehm, it is also said that it is the task dated October 14, 1962,. Cf. exhib. cat. Gerhard 57 Cf. Klaus Krüger, “Der Blick ins Innere des Bildes. of the portrait to paint that in which man appears Richter, Bilder einer Ausstellung, ed. Uwe M. Schneede, Ästhetische Illusion bei Gerhard Richter,” in: unmistakable, and shows himself as that which we Bucerius Kunst Forum, Hamburg 2011, p.52. Pantheon, vol. 53, 1995, p.150. call an individual. Cf. Gottfried Boehm, Bildnis und 28 Ehrenfried, ibid., p.164. 58 Krüger, ibid., p.151.

462 notes

59 Butin sees this similarly when he writes that “ein such associations of red—fire—war—blood remain in: Sechs Vorträge über Gerhard Richter, eds. Mensch” was represented “ohne definierbaren too vague. Dietmar Elger and Jürgen Müller, Cologne 2007 Wesenskern.” Cf. Hubertus Butin, “Gerhard Rich- 84 Cf. Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, p.81. (Schriften des Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden, ters Editionen und die Diskurse der Bilder,” in: 85 Cf. Adorno, ibid., pp.333 and 336–7. vol. 1, ed. Dietmar Elger), p.26. Gerhard Richter, Editionen 1965–2013, eds. Hubertus 86 Cf. Stefan Germer, “Familienanschluss. Zur Thema- 97 Cf. Hubertus Butin, ibid., p.24. Butin, Stefan Gronert, Thomas Olbricht. Ostfildern tisierung des Privaten in neueren Bildern Gerhard 98 According to one of Richter’s statements (in Nov. 2014, p.83. Richters,” in: Texte zur Kunst, year 7, No. 26. June 2017), a photograph was the starting point for this 60 It is “eine Art Gegen-Portrait, das alle Kriterien der 1997, p.115. work, in which the artist represents himself as Gattung erfüllt und zugleich unterläuft.” Cf. Stefan 87 In a letter to Julian Heynen, Richter made a state- “blackface” (Atlas, Nos. 62, 63). Gronert, Gerhard Richter Portraits, Ostfildern 2006, ment to that effect and he also let it be understood 99 The publication in question is: Selbstdarstellung. p.51. in a telephone conversation that the picture was a Künstler über sich selbst, ed. Wulf Herzogenrath, 61 Cf. Elger, pp.231 and 268–9.—Richter and Marianne kind of self-portrait. Cf. Julian Heynen, February/ Düsseldorf 1973, p.19. See Butin, ibid., p.27. (Ema) Eufinger were divorced in 1981. March 2000, in: Gerhard Richter, Bilder 1999. Kaiser 100 Cf. Manfred Frank, “Subjekt, Person, Individuum,” 62 Richter, Text, 2008, p.514. Wilhelm Museum Krefeld 2000, unpaginated. in: Die Frage nach dem Subjet, eds. Manfred Frank, 63 Elger, p.338. The painter later confirmed this view to Buchloh. Gérard Raulet, and Willem van Reijen, Frankfurt 64 Stefan Germer, “Familienanschluss. Zur Thema Cf. Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Archaeology to Tran- 1988, p.9. Concerning art cf. inter alia Martina tisierung des Privaten in neueren Bildern Gerhard scendence. A Random Dictionary for/on Gerhard Weinhart, Selbstbildnis ohne Selbst. Dekonstruktion Richters,” in: Texte zur Kunst, year 7, No. 26, June Richter,” in: Gerhard Richter, Paintings 1996–2001. eines Genres in der zeitgenössischen Kunst. Berlin 2004. 1997, p.112. Marian Goodman Gallery. New York 2001, p.21, 101 Paul Valéry, Cahiers / Hefte, vol. 1, eds. Hartmut 65 Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Die Malerei am Ende des Note 21. Cf. also: Fotini Ladaki, “Moritz” von Köhler and Jürgen Schmidt-Radefeldt, Frankfurt, Sujets,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Kunst- und Gerhard Richter. Der Schrecken des Sehens als 1987, p.182. Ausstellungshalle, Bonn 1993, vol. 2, p.56. Daseinserfahrung. Athen and Kania 2004. 102 Cf. Peter Bürger, Das Verschwinden des Subjekts. Eine 66 Krüger. ibid., p.155. 88 Interview mit Jürgen Hohmeyer, Frankfurter Allge- Geschichte der Subjektivität von Montaigne bis Barthes, 67 Robert Storr, “Gerhard Richter,” October 18, 1977, meine Sonntagszeitung, Feb. 3, 2002. Cf. Richter, Text, Frankfurt 1998, p.224. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2000, 2008, p.404. As for the shock, one needs to recall 103 Michel Foucault, “Technologien des Selbst,” in: p.134. that the devastating attack on the World Trade Technologien des Selbst, eds. Luther H. Martin, Huck 68 Silverman, ibid., p.211. Center with its many dead had happened just five Gutman, and Patrick H. Hutton, Frankfurt 1993, 69 Achim Borchardt-Hume, “Dreh Dich nicht um: months earlier. pp.24 ff. Don’t Turn Around, Richter’s Paintings of the Late 89 Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.501. 104 Cf. Paul Ricœur, Soi-même comme un autre, Paris 1990. 1980s,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Panorama 90 Cf. Benjamin H.D,. Buchloh, “Gerhard Richter’s 105 Jean Baudrillard, Die fatalen Strategien, Munich 1985, 2012, p.164. New Abstractions: Infinite and Infinitesimal,” p.80. 70 Germer, “Familienanschluss,” ibid., p.111. in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Abstract Paintings, 106 Cf.: Verena Krieger, “Sieben Arten an der 71 Krüger, ibid., p.156. Marian Goodman Gallery, Paris 2008, p.72. Überwindung des Künstlerkonzepts zu scheitern. 72 Elger, S 362. 91 Cf. Albrecht Wellmer, “Wahrheit, Schein, Versöh- Kritische Anmerkungen zum Mythos vom 73 Richter in an interview with his daughter Babette in nung. Adornos ästhetische Rettung der Moderni- verschwindenden Autor,” in: Was ist ein Künstler? 2002, Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.452. tät,” in: Adorno-Konferenz 1983, eds. Ludwig von Das Subjekt der modernen Kunst, eds. Martin 74 Astrid Kasper, Gerhard Richter. Malerei als Thema der Friedeburg and Jürgen Habermas, Frankfurt Hellmold, Sabine Kampmann, Ralph Lindner, Malerei, Berlin 200, p.237. In conversation with 1983, p.142. Katharina Sykora, Munich 2003, pp.117–48. Nicholas Serota, Richter confirms this when he says; 92 Asked about his family pictures, Richter answered: 107 Bürger, ibid., p.204. “role-models like that are generally in my mind, and “They are not even that beautiful. They are a little 108 Cited here after Wolfgang Welsch, “Identität im then when the paintings are finished, I might realise damaged . . . Again I couldn’t quite hold it: they are Übergang. Philosophische Überlegungen zur what they remind me of, for instance, Reader not as beautiful as Vermeer . . . Painting is the only aktuellen Affinität von Kunst, Psychiatrie und reminds me of Vermeer.” Cf. exhib. cat. Gerhard positive thing I have. Even if I see everything else Gesellschaft,” in: Welsch, Ästhetisches Denken, Richter, Panorama, Nationalgalerie, Staatliche negatively, at least in the pictures I can communi- 2nd. ed., Stuttgart 1991, p.197. Museen zu Berlin, 2012, p.17. cate some kind of hope. I can at least carry on.” Cf. 109 In conversation with Mathias Schreiber 1972, 75 Ibid. Interview mit Robert Storr, in: Richter, Text, 2008, Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.63. 76 Cf. Gislind Nabakowski, “Heilig, heilig, heilig!— p.402. 110 Cf. Gerhard Richter, Editionen 1965–2013, eds. Trügerischer Weichmacher-Realismus: Gerhard 93 Cf. Dieter Schwarz, Gerhard Richter. Zeichnungen Hubertus Butin, Stefan Gronert, Thomas Olbricht, Richter in Nîmes,” in: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 1964–1999. Werkverzeichnis, Winterthur and Ostfildern 2014, No. 74. No. 165, July 18, 1996, p.36, where it says, among Düsseldorf 1999, p.8. 111 Hubertus Butin, “Gerhard Richters RAF-Zyklus in other things: “Here, at all costs, an older painter 94 Of course, that does not mean that Richter would der Kunstkritik,” in: Kunstforum International. vol. 215, strives for a myth to whose masculine projection he have been constantly invisible. Quite the contrary: April/June 2012, pp.91 ff. submitted in the studio without any reflection— When in 1993, the volume was published with his 112 Hubertus Butin, “Gerhard Richter Editionen holy, holy, holy! . . . Much too smooth, his once records, notes, and interviews (Text), it was illus- und die Diskurse der Bilder,” in: Gerhard Richter, virtuoso technique slips from the artist’s hands. trated with 90 reproductions of him. Of these, 76 Editionen 1965–2013, ibid., p.72. With that in mind, haven’t Richter’s paintings show the artist alone, in a pensive mood, reflect- 113 Cf. Hubertus Butin, “Unbekannte Fotoarbeiten meanwhile become too expensive after all?” ing, resting, frequently also at work in his studio, von Gerhard Richter,” in: Stefan Gronert, Gerhard 77 In an interview with Astrid Kasper in December while in the remaining 14 pictures, he appears Richter, Portraits, Ostfildern 2006, p.223. 2012, Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.374. together with Ema or Isa Genzken, or with other 114 Cf. Gerhard Richter, 100 Selbstbildnisse, Staatliche 78 Cf. Gronert, Gerhard Richter, Portraits, p.100, who artists such as Palermo or Baselitz, or with gallery Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Dietmar Elger, says that it cannot be denied that, here, Richter has owners and curators. This is not surprising at first, Dresden and Cologne 2018. given visual form to dubiousness. after all, the artist and his reflections and observa- 115 Richter, Text, 2008, p.144. 79 Richter in an interview with Hans Ulrich Obrist n tions are at the center of the publication. The new 116 Richter, Text, 2008, p.280–81. “Life is the will to 2014, cf. exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Bilder/Serien. edition of 2008, however, creates an entirely dif- power,” Nietzsche said in Jenseits von Gut und Böse Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel 2014, p.100. ferent impression. Now they are predominantly that the Will-to-Power is the primordial fact of all 80 Richter in an interview with Astrid Kasper in 2000, pictures of individual works, of exhibition installa- history [Ur-Faktum aller Geschichte]. Cf. Friedrich Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.374. tions, of friends, curators, visitors of museums, gal- Nietzsche, Werke in drei Bänden, eds. Karl Schlechta, 81 Cf. Dieter Schwarz, “Wiederholung. Serie, Zyklus. lery owners and dealers, interpreters of his oeuvre, vol. 2, Munich 1966, p.729. Die Vervielfachung des Bildes bei Gerhard Richter,” exhibition organizers, and many more. Richter, 117 Physiognomy, haircut, spectacles, as well as the in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Bilder/Serien, too, appears, of course, but now he is essentially concentrated seriousness recalle the portrait repro- Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/ Basel 2014, p.27. but one part of the entire art industry represented duced by Elger and dated 1992. Cf. Elger, 2008, 82 Ulrich Herbert, Geschichte Deutschlands im 20. in the images. What had been characterized by a p.347. Jahrhundert, Munich 2014, p.1,144. latent egocentrism in 1993, now proves to be the 118 Cf. Atlas, No. 618 and r. 83 For example, Jenni-Preihs associates a series of red manifestation of an event that embodies nothing 119 With regard to this work, Butin speaks of an abstractions created by Richter in the 1990s with eccentric and no longer gives the artist any special oppressive situation of feeling trapped, and he the 1991 Gulf War and understands them as an status. stresses the convincing expressiveness and values answer to war, violence, and pain. She argues simi- 95 Alexander Kluge, “Richter,” 1966, in: monopol. far removed from traditional conceptions of the larly with regard to Richter’s book War Cut, where Magazin für Kunst und Leben, 2/2012, p.29. subject. Cf. Hubertus Butin, “Unbekannte Foto pages 151 ff. are said to point to violence and blood- 96 Cf. Hubertus Butin, “Gerhard Richter im Bild. arbeiten von Gerhard Richter,” in: Stefan Gronert, shed during the Gulf War of 2003. But ultimately Selbstdarstellungen und Selbstinszenierungen,” Gerhard Richter, Portraits, Ostfildern 2006, p.225.

463 notes

120 For Gronert, both self-portraits are works of in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Bilder/Serien, kunst, ibid., pp.257 ff. The exhibition was previously Richter, in which he seems to withdraw from the Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel 2014, p.25. shown at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. viewer, who compulsively seeks the artist in his 10 Cf. Monika Jenni-Preihs, Gerhard Richter und die 30 Norbert Elias, Studien über die Deutschen. Macht- psyche. Cf. Stefan Gronert, Gerhard Richter, Portraits, Geschichte Deutschlands, Vienna 2013 (Grazer kämpfe und Habitusentwicklung im 19. und 20. Jahr- Ostfildern 2006, p.102. Edition, vol. 13), p.183. hundert, Frankfurt 1989, p.528. 121 Interview with Babette Richter, 2002, Cf. Richter, 11 Stefan Aust, Der Baader Meinhof Komplex, Hamburg 31 Stefan Aust, Der Baader Meinhof Komplex, Hamburg Text, 2008, p.462. 1986, pp.376 ff. 1986, p.54. 122 Gronert, Gerhard Richter, Portraits, p.103. 12 The theologist Helmut Gollwitzer called the jour- 32 Aust, ibid., p.62. 123 Robert Storr, “Forty Years of Painting,” in: exhib. nalist at her funeral a woman who had had a hard 33 Aust, ibid., p.68. cat. Gerhard Richter, Forty Years of Painting, life, and who had made her life harder by allowing 34 Peter Rühmkorf, Die Jahre, die ihr kennt. Anfälle und Museum of Modern Art, New York 2002, p.81. other people’s misery to get to her. In: Aust, ibid., Erinnerungen, Reinbek 1972. Here cited after: Kindlers 124 Gronert, ibid., p.103. p.384. In the Shadow of Karl Barth: Charlotte von Neues Literaturlexikon, ed. Walter Jens, vol. 14, 125 Gronert, ibid., p.104. Kirschbaum Munich 1988, p.449. 126 Richter, Text, 2008, p.129. 13 Ulrike M. Meinhof, “Aufklärung über eigenes 35 On Baader’s criminal career cf. Karin Wieland, 127 Friedrich Nietzsche, Die Geburt der Tragödie aus dem Denken,” in: Der Spiegel, No. 33, 2016, pp.120 ff. in: Rudi Dutschke, Andreas Baader und die RAF, Geiste der Musik, in Nietzsche, Werke in drei Bänden, 14 Ulf Erdmann Ziegler, “Wie die Seele den Leib Hamburger Edition 2005, pp.51 ff. ed. Karl Schlechta, vol. 1, Munich 1966, p.108. verlässt. Gerhard Richters Zyklus ‘18. Oktober 1977’, 36 Aust, ibid., pp.69–70. 128 In 2000, in conversation with Astrid Kasper, das letzte Kapitel westdeutscher Nachkriegs- 37 Wieland, ibid., p.88. cf. Richter, Text, 2008, pp.378–9. malerei,” in: exhib. cat. Deutschlandbilder. Kunst 38 Gerd Koenen, Das rote Jahrzehnt. Unsere kleine 129 Gerhard Richter in February 2002, in an interview aus einem geteilten Land, ed. Eckhart Gillen, Berlin deutsche Kulturrevolution, 1967–1977. Cologne 2001, with Jürgen Hohmeyer, Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, 1997–8, p.409. p.369. p.405. 15 Cf. Stefan Aust, ibid., p.247. See also: Alex Danchev, 39 The term Stadtguerilla (urban guerrilla) was appar- 130 Ibid., p.376. “Der Künstler ist der Terrorist, oder das Malbare ently first used in Germany by Rudi Dutschke, who, 131 Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, ibid., p.226. und das Unmalbare: Gerhard Richter und die however, emphatically refused to be identified with 132 Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, ibid., p.231. Baader-Meinhof-Gruppe,” in: Gerhard Richter. the RAF; rather, he was rather the political oppo- 133 Gerhard Richter in 2002, in conversation with Fotografie und Malerei – Malerei als Fotografie. Acht nent of the RAF. “Terrorismus,” he said in an inter- Robert Storr, Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.393. Texte zu Gerhard Richters Medienstrategie, Cologne view, “ist reiner Mord, er ist gegen die sozialistische 134 Text for the documenta 7 catalog, 1982, Cf. Richter, 2011 (Schriften des Gerhard Richter Archiv Ethik.” Cf. Wolfgang Kraushaar, “Rudi Dutschke Text, 2008, p.121. Dresden, vol. 8, ed. Dietmar Elger), p.61. und der bewaffnete Kampf,” in: Rudi Dutschke, 16 Cf. Robert Storr, Gerhard Richter. October 18, 1977, Andreas Baader und die RAF, Hamburger Edition Museum of Modern Art, New York 2000, 2005, p.47. 12. october 18, 1977 pp.106–7. 40 Ulrich Herbert, Geschichte Deutschlands im 20. 17 Cf. Hubertus Butin, Zu Richters Oktober-Bildern, Jahrhundert, Munich 2014, p.924. 1 Cf. Presseberichte zu Gerhard Richter “18. Oktober Cologne 1991 (Schriften zur Sammlung des 41 Aust, ibid., pp.293 ff. 1977,” Museum für Moderne Kunst/Portikus, Museums für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt), p.48. 42 Aust, ibid., pp.289–90. Frankfurt, Cologne 1989; Hubertus Butin, 18 Cf. Gertrud Koch, “Verlauf der Zeit,” in: Parkett, 43 Aust, ibid., pp.305 ff. “Gerhard Richters RAF-Zyklus in der Kunstkritik,” vol. 35, 1993, p.75. 44 Aust, ibid., p.376. in: Kunstforum international, vol. 215, 2012, pp.91 ff. 19 Aust, ibid., p.575. 45 Aust, ibid., p.366. 2 By way of example, only a few publications are 20 Buchloh, for example, thinks that the press 46 Cf. Ulf Erdmann Ziegler, “Wie die Seele den Leib mentioned here: Gerhard Storck, “Ohne Titel photographs commissioned by the police seem to verlässt,” ibid., p.411. (Gemischte Gefühle),” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard be designed to “ritualistically” assure “the final liq- 47 Herbert, ibid., p.927. Richter. 18. Oktober 1977. Museum Haus Esters uidation of the enemies of the state.” Benjamin 48 Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, April 20, 1998, Krefeld, Portikus Frankfurt, Cologne 1989, pp.11–18; H. D. Buchloh, “Gerhard Richter: 18. Oktober 1977,” p.1. Stefan Germer, Ungebetene Erinnerung, ibid., in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, 18. Oktober 1977, 49 Cf. inter alia the exhib. cat. Zur Vorstellung des pp.51–53; Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Gerhard Museum Haus Esters Krefeld/Portikus Frankfurt, Terrors: Die RAF, 2 vols. ed. Klaus Biesenbach, Richter: 18. Oktober 1977,” ibid., pp.55–59; Cologne 1989, p.56. KW Institute for Contemporary Art/Kunst-Werke Hubertus Butin, Zu Richters Oktober-Bildern, Cologne 21 Pieter H. Bakker Schut, Stammheim. Der Prozess gegen e.V., Berlin 2005. 1991 (Schriften zur Sammlung des Museums für Moderne die Rote Armee Fraktion, Kiel 1986. In 1995, Richter 50 Albrecht Wellmer, “Terrorismus und Gesellschafts- Kunst, Frankfurt); Kai-Uwe Hemken, Gerhard Richter almost completely covered 23 pages of this publica- kritik,” in: Stichworte zur ‘Geistigen Situation der Zeit,’ 18. Oktober 1977, Frankfurt and Leipzig 1998; Martin tion with pastose color, and thus distanced himself ed. Jürgen Habermas, vol. 1: Nation und Republik, Henatsch, Gerhard Richter 18. Oktober 1977. Das from the theses of Bakker Schuts. Cf. Kai-Uwe Frankfurt 1979 (edition suhrkamp, vol. 1000), p.271. verwischte Bild der Geschichte, Frankfurt 1998; Robert Hemken, Gerhard Richter. 18. Oktober 1977, Frankfurt 51 Wellmer, ibid., p.274. Storr, Gerhard Richter. October 18, 1977, The Museum and Leipzig 1998, pp.95–6. Cf. also Das Gedächtnis 52 Wellmer, ibid., p.275. of Modern Art, New York 2000; Alex Danchev, der Kunst, Geschichte und Erinnerung in der Kunst der 53 In conversation with Jan Thorn-Prikker, Richter said “Der Künstler und der Terrorist, oder das Malbare Gegenwart, ed. Kurt Wettengl, Frankfurt 2000, in 1989: “Stefan Aust’s book was very important to und das Unmalbare: Gerhard Richter und die pp.179–80. me. So knowledge of the people, knowing the peo- Baader-Meinhof-Gruppe,” in: Gerhard Richter. 22 Reproductions in Storr, ibid., p.107. ple, was basic to the pictures.” Richter, Text, 2008, Fotografie und Malerei—Malerei als Fotografie. Acht 23 Aust, ibid., pp.238 ff. p.230. Texte zu Gerhard Richters Medienstrategie, eds. 24 Ulf Erdmann Ziegler, “Wie die Seele den Leib ver- 54 Richter, Text, 2008 (Notes, November 1988 Dietmar Elger and Kerstin Küster, Cologne 2011 lässt. Gerhard Richters Zyklus ,18. Oktober 1977’, for a press conference in February 1989), p.205. (Schriften des Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden, vol. das letzte Kapitel westdeutscher Nachkriegs- 55 Richter, Text, 2008 (Notes, November 1988), 8, ed. Dietmar Elger), pp.51–81; Guido Meincke, “18. malerei,” in: exhib. cat. Deutschlandbilder. Kunst p.203. Oktober 1977,” in: Meincke, Gerhard Richter, Zeit- aus einem geteilten Land, ed. Eckhart Gillen, Berlin 56 Richter, Text, 2008 (Notes, November 1988), genossenschaft, Munich 2013, pp.57–93. 1997–8, p.411. pp.203. 3 Guido Meincke, Gerhard Richter, Zeitgenossenschaft, 25 Ulrich Herbert, Geschichte Deutschlands im 20. 57 Richter, Text, 2008 (Notes, November 1988), Munich 2013, p.92. Jahrhundert, Munich 2014, p.929. p.202. 4 Richter, Text 2008 (interview with Hubertus Butin 26 Herbert, ibid., p.979. 58 Sigmund Freud, Erinnern, Wiederholen und Durch 1995), pp.332–3. 27 Ulf Erdmann Ziegler, ibid., p.412 claimed that the arbeiten, in: Gesammelte Werke, vol. 10 (works from 5 Cf. Martin Henatsch, Gerhard Richter: 18. Oktober cycle was the centerpiece of German painting, the years 1913–1917), Frankfurt 1999, pp.126 ff. 1977. Das verwischte Bild der Geschichte, Frankfurt whose “post-war period” thus came to an end. 59 Similarly Stefan Germer: “Richter bestimmt sein 1998, p.55. 28 Richter, Text 2008 (interview with Sabine Schütz), Verfahren als dialektische Vermittlung von 6 Stefan Aust, Der Baader Meinhof Komplex, Hamburg p.256. Annäherung und Distanzierung, als einen Prozess 1986, p.592. 29 Cf. Svea Bräunert, “Die RAF und das Phantom des der Aneignung einer verdrängten Erfahrung, der 7 Richter, Text 2008, p.202. Terrorismus in der Bundesrepublik,” in: exhib. cat. Logik von Erinnern, Wiederholen und Durch 8 Cf. Gerhard Storck, “Ohne Titel (Gemischte Kunst und Kalter Krieg. Deutsche Positionen 1945–89, arbeiten folgt.” Cf. Stefan Germer, “Ungebetene Gefühle),” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter: 18. Oktober eds. Stephanie Barron and Sabine Eckmann, Erinnerung,” ibid., p.51. 1977, Museum Haus Esters/Portikus Frankfurt, Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nürnberg; 60 Robert Storr, Gerhard Richter, 18. Oktober 1977, Cologne 1989, pp.14–15. Deutsches Historisches Museum Berlin, Cologne Museum of Modern Art, New York 2000, p.115, 9 Cf. Dieter Schwarz, “Wiederholung, Serie, Zyklus. 2009, pp.261 ff.; Peter Weibel, Repression und Note 11. Storr’s assertion in the same place that in Die Vervielfachung des Bildes bei Gerhard Richter,” Repräsentation. Die RAF in der deutschen Nachkriegs 1972, Isa Genzken moved in RAF circles, is probably

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based on a misunderstanding. Genzken’s name was 9 Peter Bürger, Theory of the avant-garde, Minneapolis, tion in European Painting,” in: October, 16, 1981, apparently used by a member of the RAF as a cover Manchester 1984, p.94. pp.55, 59. name. Cf. Ulf Erdmann Ziegler, “Wie die Seele den 10 Christos M. Joachimides, “A New Spirit in Painting,” 31 Cf. Martin Engler, ”’What You See Is What You Leib verlässt,” ibid., p.412. in: exhib. cat. A New Spirit in Painting, Royal Academy Get.’ Malerei in Zeiten der Neo-Avantgarde,” in: 61 Elger, pp.340–41. of Arts, London 1981, p.15. exhib. cat. Die 80er. Figurative Malerei in der BRD, 62 Richter, Text, 2008 (Notes, November 1988), 11 For the German context, inter alia one should refer ed. Martin Engler, Städel Museum Frankfurt, p.205. to Refigured Painting. The German Image 1960–88, Ostfildern 2015, pp.11 ff. 63 Richter, Text, 2008 (interview with Gregorio eds. Thomas Krens, Michael Govan, Joseph 32 Stella’s work Laysan Millerbird, an aluminum relief Magnani, 1989), p.227. Thompson. The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, with oil paint and lacquer created in 1977, measures 64 Richter, Text, 2008 (interview with Jan Ohio; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New 369 x 547 cm, while Richter’s paintings come to 225 Thorn-Prikker, 1989), p.236. York; Williams College Museum of Art, Williams x 200 and 250 x 200 cm. Richter’s discomfort was 65 Richter, Text, 2008 (interview with Gregorio town, Mass.; Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf; Kunsthalle less likely to have been triggered by the formats, Magnani, 1989), p.231. Schirn, Frankfurt 1988–9. but rather by the aggressive coloration, the sharp 66 Richter, Text 2008 (interview with Jan 12 Cf. Wolfgang Max Faust/Gerd de Vries, Hunger contours of the applied elements, and above all the Thorn-Prikker, 1989), p.236. nach Bildern. Deutsche Malerei der Gegenwart, sculptural qualities of Stella’s work. 67 Cf. Kai-Uwe Hemken, Gerhard Richter: 18. Oktober Cologne 1982. 33 Cf. Elger, pp.262–3. 1977. Frankfurt and Leipzig 1998, pp.148–9. 13 Habermas significantly summarized the fifth vol- 34 Even the title of the section—Malerei nach Malerei 68 Stefan Germer, “Ungebetene Erinnerung,” ibid., ume of his small collection of political writings from (Painting after Painting)—seemed superficial to him, p.52. 1981 to 1984 under the title, Die Neue Unübersicht- a pseudotheme. “It’s astonishing how easily people 69 Germer, ibid., p.53. lichkeit (The New Confusion), which soon became swallow slogans like that, just because they sound 70 Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Gerhard Richter: a buzzword (Frankfurt 1985). quite interesting.” Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.94. ‘18. Oktober 1977,’” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, 14 Cf. CR 289 Detail (Carmine) and CR 290 Detail 35 Richter’s answers when asked by Marlies Grüterich Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle Bonn 1993, vol. 2, p.52. (Kreutz). on September 2, 1977. Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.93. 71 Buchloh’s evaluation of the events preceding the 15 Exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Arbeiten 1962 bis 1971, 36 Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Ready-made, Photo pictures is worth mentioning. He says, the series Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, graphy, and Painting in the Painting of Gerhard October 18, 1977 “attempts to initiate a reflective Düsseldorf 1971; Gerhard Richter, 36th Biennale Richter,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Abstract commemoration of these individuals, whose sup- (German Pavilion), Venice 1972, pp.60, 61. Paintings, Municipel Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven posed crimes remained to a large degree unproven 16 Elger, p.208. and Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, 1978–9, p.5. (despite years of pretrial investigation, which never 17 Cf. Sigmar Polke (and Bice Curriger), Photographien 37 In an interview with Bruce Ferguson and Jeffrey even resulted in an indictment), as was that crime Paris 1971. Cologne 1989. Spalding. Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.107. (never even investigated) whose victims they 18 Elger, p.208. 38 Interview with Amine Haase, 16. September 1977. became.” Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “A Note on 19 Richter in a letter to Edy de Wilde dated February Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.109. Gerhard Richter’s ‘October 18, 1977,’” October, 23, 1975. Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, pp.91–2. 39 Klaus Honnef, in: exhib. cat. documenta 6, vol. 1, Cambridge, Mass. vol. 48 (Spring 1989), p.105. 20 Elger, 2002, pp.285 ff. Kassel 1977, p.124. Elsewhere he speaks of the “liquidation of enemies 21 Looking back, Richter said: “My pictures became 40 Lyotard, ibid., p.334. of the state,” ibid., p.56. more and more impersonal and general until 41 Letter to Birgit Pelzer dated March 25, 1980. 72 This designates a problem repeatedly discussed in nothing was left but monochrome gray or colors Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.115–16. hermeneutics. Cf. Otto Friedrich Bollnow, “Was next to each other, any unmodulated color. Then 42 Lyotard, ibid., p.53. heißt, einen Schriftsteller besser verstehen, als er I was totally outside my paintings. But I didn’t feel 43 Ulrich Look, “Das Ereignis des Bildes,” in: Ulrich sich selber verstanden hat?,” in: Bollnow, Das well either. You can’t live like that, and therefore I Loock and Denys Zacharopoulos, Gerhard Richter, Verstehen. Drei Aufsätze zur Theorie der Geistes- decided to paint the exact opposite. I decided very Munich 1985, pp.99 and 109. wissenschaften. Mainz 1949. pp.7 ff. consciously—as salvation after all that gray – to sur- 44 Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Die Malerei am Ende des 73 Cf. Robert Storr, Gerhard Richter, Forty Years of Paint- vive, to paint polychrome, complicated, [kitschy] Sujets,” ibid., p.65. ing, Museum of Modern Art, New York 2002, p.77. pictures.” Richter in an interview with Dorothea 45 Here I am taking up one of Adorno’s phrases. Cf. 74 Robert Storr, Gerhard Richter, October 18, 1977, Dietrich in 1985, Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, pp.155–6. Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, p.315. Museum of Modern Art, New York 2000, pp.131–2. 22 Cf. Jürgen Harten, “Der romantische Wille zur 46 Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Die Malerei am Ende des 75 Walter Grasskamp, “Gerhard Richter: 18. Oktober Abstraktion,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Bilder/ Sujets,” Ch.7: “Richters Faktur: Zwischen Synek 1977. Erborgte Radikalität,” in: Jahresring. Jahrbuch Paintings 1962–1985, ed. Jürgen Harten, Düsseldorf, doche und Spektakel,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, für moderne Kunst, vol. 36, Munich 1989, p.226. Berlin, Bern, and Vienna. Cologne 1986, p.54. vol. 2, Bonn 1993, p.65. 76 Cf. Gerhard Richter, 18. Oktober 1977, Presseberichte, 23 Here cited after Adorno’s definition of the term 47 Cf. Peter Bürger, ibid., pp.23–24. Cologne 1989, pp.111–12; Richter, Text, 2008, “Konstruktion,” in: Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, p.91. 48 Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, ibid., p.227.—It is probably pp.250 ff. 24 Richter, Text, 2008, p.93. also this figure of thought on which Buchloh bases 77 Cf. Martin Henatsch, Gerhard Richter: 18. Oktober 25 Jean-François Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition: his considerations, which is reflected in his view 1977. Das verwischte Bild der Geschichte, Frankfurt A Report on Knowledge (1979). Translated by Geoff that Richter’s pictures, although by no means 1998, p.40. Bennington and Brian Massumi. Minnesota 1984, understood and intended by the artist in this way, 78 Richter, Text, 2008, pp.213 ff. p.60. ultimately follow the market. 79 Richter, Text, 2008, p.223. 26 Herbert, ibid., p.1004. 49 Richter, Text, 2008, p.113. In the first catalogue 80 Richter in an interview with Sabine Schütz in 1990, 27 Jean François Lyotard, Philosophy and Painting in raisonné from 1986, it is pointed out that this Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.263. the Age of Their Experimentation in: The Merleau- version is to be listed in a volume on printmaking. 81 Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, p.232. Ponty Aesthetics Reader: Philosophy and Painting In the catalogue raisonné of the works dated 1993, (1979), Evanstone, Ill. 1993, p.332. No. 441 has been omitted. 28 Lyotard, ibid., p.335. 50 128 details from a picture (Halifax 1978), The Nova 13. abstract paintings 29 Cf. Michael Schwarz, “Spontanmalerei,” in: Kunst Scotia Pamphlets 2nd ed. Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, forum international, vol. 20, 1977, pp.46 ff. The Halifax 1980. Cf. Gerhard Richter, Editionen 1965– 1 Ulrich Herbert, Geschichte Deutschlands im 20. volume, to which Richter expressly refers in his 2013, ibid., No. 56. Other versions of the edition Jahrhundert, Munich 2014, p.865. letter to Buchloh, also contains monographic (Nos. 99–101) were created in 1998. 2 Herbert, ibid., p.883. contributions on Georg Baselitz (by Carla 51 Coosje van Bruggen, “Gerhard Richter. Painting as 3 Herbert, ibid., pp.915 ff. Schulz-Hoffmann, pp.97 ff.), Markus Lüpertz a Moral Act,” in: Artforum, Mai 1985, p.91. 4 Jürgen Habermas, introduction, in: Observations on (by Walter Ehrmann, pp.100 ff.), Anselm Kiefer 52 Richter, Text, 2008, p.442. In his MoMA interview the “Spiritual Situation of the Age,” (1947), translated (by Evelyn Weiss, pp.107 ff.) and others. Richter is with Robert Storr, Richter says among other things: and with an introduction by Andrew Buchwalter, only mentioned in passing in Schwarz’s article and “That was pure smugness. It was a very big and Cambridge, Mass 1984, pp.21. is only given three pages with color plates (inpaint- boisterous picture, and I don’t remember if any- 5 Habermas, ibid., p.21. ings and details), while Baselitz and Lüpertz have thing reminded me of Faust. It was a conscious 6 Habermas, ibid., p.23. eight color pages each. decision to never declare it as being either one 7 W. Martin Lüdke, Einleitung, in: “Theorie der Avant- 30 Richter, Text, 2008, pp.94.—A little later Buchloh thing or another. Of course, in the back of my garde,” Antworten auf Peter Bürgers Bestimmung von speaks of a “regressive” phenomenon and of head, I thought that hopefully people would under- Kunst und bürgerlicher Gesellschaft, ed. W. Martin “reactionary” German artists or of a “Fetischi stand it as Walpurgis Night.” He wanted to create Lüdke, Frankfurt 1976, pp.11–12. sierung der Malerei im Kult der peinture.” Cf. Ben- something, “carried by a fresh wind, to make some- 8 Th. W. Adorno, Philosophy of New Music, 3rd ed. jamin H. D. Buchloh, “Figures of Authority, Ciphers thing free, clear, open, crystal, visible, transparent, Frankfurt 1966, pp.30 and 24. of Regression: Notes on the Return of Representa- a Utopia.” Soon after, Richter qualified his state-

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ment, “But I have to take back what I said about the 74 Richter, Text, 2008, p.141–2. 103 Cf. Martin Seel, Ästhetik des Erscheinens, Munich abstractions being free from all meaning and opin- 75 Note dated May 30, 1985, Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, 2000, p.276. ion, that they are merely a crystal clear dynamic p.121. 104 Gerhard Richter, Painting in the Nineties. Anthony world . . . it has to do with atmospheres and con- 76 Richter, Text, 2008, p.186. d’Offay Gallery, London 1995, pp.7–15. tents. They are narrative and sentimental.” Ibid., 77 Paul Klee, Schriften. Rezensionen und Aufsätze, 105 Ulrich Wilmes states that the revelation of the for- p.443. ed. Christian Geelhaar. Cologne 1976, p.120. mation process seems only conditionally legitimate 53 Thomas Mann’s novel Doktor Faustus. Das Leben des 78 As reported by Harold Rosenberg, “The Mythic or at the very least questionable, cf. “Gerhard deutschen Tonsetzers Adrian Leverkühn, erzählt von sei- Act” (1969), in: Abstract Expressionism. A Critical Richter—ein Moment in der Zeit,” in: exhib. cat. nem Freunde, was published in 1947. It is well known Record, eds. David Shapiro and Cecile Shapiro. Gerhard Richter, Abstrakte Bilder, Museum Ludwig, that not only Schönberg’s theory of harmony, Cambridge University Press 1990, p.376. Cologne; Haus der Kunst, Munich, ed. Ulrich but above all Adorno’s music theoretical ideas 79 Richter, Text, 2008, p.185. Wilmes, Ostfildern 2008, p.139. influenced the writer. Cf. inter alia Klaus Schröter, 80 Immanuel Kant, Kritik der Urteilskraft (1790), 106 Richter in an interview with Jonas Storsve in 1991, Thomas Mann in Selbstzeugnissen und Bilddokumenten, ed. Karl Vorländer. Hamburg 1954, p.201. Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.175. Reinbek bei Hamburg 1964, p.134. Joachim Kaiser, 81 Cf. Michel Foucault, The Order of Things, Abingdon, 107 Peter Gidal, “The Polemics of Paint,” in: exhib. cat. ‘“Doktor Faustus’, die Musik und das deutsche UK (1966) 2001, p.10: “the relation of language to Gerhard Richter, Painting in the Nineties. Anthony Schicksal,” in: Thomas Mann und München. Fünf painting is an infinte relation. It is not that words d’Offay Gallery, London 1995, p.18. Vorträge von Reinhard Baumgart, Joachim Kaiser, are imperfect, or that, when confronted by the visi- 108 Peter Gidal, Ibid., p.19. Kurt Sontheimer, Peter Wapnewski, Hans Wysling, ble, they prove insurperably inadequate. Neither 109 Ulrich Wilmes, “Gerhard Richter—ein Moment der Informationen und Materialien zur Literatur, can be reduced to the other’s terms: it is in vain Zeit,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Abstrakte Bilder, Frankfurt 1989, pp.44 ff. that we say what we see; what we see never resides ibid., p.152. 54 Conversation with Wolfgang Pehnt. Cf. Richter, Text, in what we say. And it is in vain that we attempt to 110 Peter Osborne, “Abstrakte Bilder: Zeichen, Abbild 2008, p.136. show, by the use of images, metaphors or similes, und Ästhetik,” in: “Gerhard Richters Malerei,” in: 55 Richter, Text, 2008, p.182. what we are saying.” Gerhard Richter. Fotografie und Malerei—Malerei als 56 Richter, Text, 2008, p.214. 82 Dorothea Dietrich and Gerhard Richter, “Gerhard Fotografie. Acht Texte zu Gerhard Richters Medien- 57 Cf. Camille Morineau, “The Blow-Up, Primary Richter: An Interview,” in: Print Collector’s Newsletter, strategie (Schriften des Gerhard Richter Archiv Colours and Duplications,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard 16, 1985, p.128. Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.146. Dresden), vol. 8, ed. Dietmar Elger, Cologne 2011, Richter, Panorama, Tate Modern, London; Neue 83 Note dated Feb. 12, 1990, Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.166. Nationalgalerie Berlin; Centre Georges Pompidou, p.247. 111 Johannes Meinhardt, “Illusionism in Painting and Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris, 2011–12, 84 Richter, Text, 2008, p.35. the ,Punctum’ in Photography,” in: October Files, 8, p.123. 85 Richter, Text, 2008, p.70. ed. Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, MIT Press 2009, 58 Morineau, ibid., p.127. 86 Robert Storr, “Interview with Gerhard Richter,” in: pp.139–40. 59 Morineau, ibid., p.130. Gerhard Richter, Forty Years of Painting. The Museum 112 In an interview with Dorothea Dietrich in 1985; 60 Cf. Dieter Schwarz, “Wiederholung, Serie, Zyklus. of Modern Art, New York. New York 2002, p.300. cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.156. In 2002, in conversa- Die Vervielfachung des Bildes bei Gerhard Richter,” 87 Interview with Gerhard Richter, ibid., p.414. tion with Robert Storr, Richter returned to this in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Bilder/Serien. 88 Robert Storr, “Gerhard Richter. Forty Years of example: “You can interpret the Black Square Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel 2014, pp.19 ff. Painting,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Forty Years of Malevich as much as you like, but it remains a 61 Hans Ulrich Obrist, interview with Gerhard Richter, of Painting, ed. Robert Storr, The Museum of provocation . . . Basically we always try to identify in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Bilder/Serien. Modern Art, New York 2002, p.78. a relation of a picture to some sort of appearance. Fondation Beyeler, Riehen/Basel 2014, p.98. 89 Such a supposition may have been fueled by the It’s not about the recognition of a particular subject 62 Morineau, ibid., p.131. fact that the October 18, 1977 series and the three matter.” Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.155. 63 For example, CR 528, 542/1, 2; 543/1, 2; 544/1–3; diptychs January, December, and November were 113 Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.92. 552/1–5; 568/1, 2; 567 etc. exhibited at the Museum Boymans van Beuningen 114 Florian Klinger, Theorie der Form. Gerhard Richter 64 Ulrich Loock, “Das Ereignis des Bildes,” in: Ulrich in Rotterdam from October 15 to December 31, und die Kunst des pragmatischen Zeitalters. Munich Loock and Denys Zacharopoulos, Gerhard Richter. 1989. 2013, p.85. Munich 1985, p.99. 90 Robert Storr, Gerhard Richter. Die Cage-Bilder, 115 Klinger, ibid., p.88. 65 Ulrich Loock, ibid., p.100. Cologne 2009, S.18. 116 Klinger, ibid., p.79. 66 Ulrich Loock, ibid., p.109. 91 Richter 1999 in an interview with Dieter Schwarz, 117 Klinger, ibid., pp.173–4. 67 Ulrich Loock, ibid., p.125. Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.351. 118 Klinger, ibid., p.175. 68 The two tubes with different widths recall Richter’s 91 “I have nothing to say, and I am saying it.” Con 119 Klinger, ibid., p.185. tube sculpture from 1965–8 (CR 59, fig. 61). Studio versation between Gerhard Richter and Nicholas 120 Richter, Text, 2008, p.160.—In his interview with has also been associated with Rogier van der Wey- Serota, spring 2011, in: exhib. cat., Gerhard Richter, Buchloh in 1986, Richter referred to Jacques den’s Boston-based Lukasmadonna (cf. Martin Panorama, Tate Modern, London; Neue National Monod’s book, Chance and Necessity. An essay on the Schieder, “Immanenz und Transzendenz. Das Trip- galerie Berlin; Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée natural philosophy of modern biology (New York, tychon ‘Atelier’ von Gerhard Richter,” in: Guido National d’Art Moderne, Paris , 2011–12, p.343. Toronto 1972) (Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.185). The Reuter and Martin Schieder (eds.), Inside/Outside. 93 “Abstrakte Bilder müssen immer eine Richtigkeit reference to music may be thanks to Adorno’s Phi- Das Atelier in der zeitgenössischen Kunst, Petersberg haben.” Gerhard Richter in conversation with losophy of New Music (1949/2006) or corresponding 2002, pp.60 ff.). Ina Conzen is much more prag- Ulrich Wilmes, in: Gerhard Richter, Zur Entstehung remarks in his Aesthetic Theory (1970/1997). matic about the subject—the studio into which der abstrakten Bilder, Cologne 2009, p.49. 121 In a letter to Wieland Förster dated February 4, Richter moved in 1983, a former cardboard factory 94 Ibid., p.51. 1962. Cf. exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter. Bilder einer in Cologne, had exactly such pillars. The painting, 95 Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.186. Epoche, ed. Uwe M. Schneede, Bucerius Kunstforum according to Conzen, is therefore not a depiction 96 In an interview with Robert Storr in 2002, Hamburg 2011, Munich 2011, p.50. of a working space, but the painterly evocation cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.426. 122 Richter, Text, 2008, p.159—Let us add that this of a creative intoxication. Cf. Ina Conzen, “Wieder 97 Richter in an interview with Hans Ulrich Obrist in remark serves Richter above all to oppose any form einstieg ins Atelier-Bild. Von den 1970er-Jahren bis 2007, Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.532. of ideology: “Action in pursuit of ideology creates heute,” in: exhib. cat. Mythos Atelier. Von Spitzweg bis 98 Gottfried Boehm, “Jenseits der Sprache? lifeless stuff at best, and can easily become crimi- Picasso, von Giacometti bis Nauman, ed. Ina Conzen. Anmerkungen zur Logik der Bilder,” in: Iconic Turn. nal.” Rather, this points ahead to the cycle October Staatsgalerie Stuttgart 2012–13, pp.193 ff. Die neue Macht der Bilder, eds. Christa Maar and 18, 1977, and is less valuable as a painterly-aesthetic 69 Cf. Angela Schneider, “Gerhard Richter—Natur / Hubert Burda, Cologne 2004, p.43. argument. Struktur,” in: exhib. cat. Das XX. Jahrhundert. Ein 99 Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.270. Richter made this 123 Klinger, ibid., p.64. Jahrhundert Kunst in Deutschland, Nationalgalerie comment when the paintings were shown at the 124 Interview with Sabine Schütz in 1990, in: Richter, Berlin 1999–2000, p.338. Tate Gallery in London in 1991. Text, 2008, p.256. 70 Richter, Text, 2008. p.118. 100 Sabine Moritz joined his class in the winter semes- 125 Florian Klinger, Theorie der Form. Gerhard Richter und 71 Gregor Stemmrich, “Gerhard Richter—Abstraktion ter of 1992, almost as his last student, because die Kunst des pragmatischen Zeitalters, Munich 2013, als Entgleisung,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Richter had decided to stop teaching by 1994. p.21. Abstrakte Bilder, Museum Ludwig, Cologne; Haus Elger, p.360. 126 Klinger, ibid., p.8. der Kunst, Munich, ed. Ulrich Wilmes, Ostfildern 101 Cf. Monika Jenni-Preihs, Gerhard Richter und die 127 Klinger, ibid., pp.173 ff. 2008, p.31. Geschichte Deutschlands, Vienna and Berlin 2013, 128 Klinger, ibid., p.57. 72 Richter, Text, 2008, p.263. p.204. 129 Klinger, ibid., p.53. 73 Text for the documenta 7 catalog, 1982, Cf. Richter, 102 Richter in conversation with Jonas Storsve in 1991, 130 Klinger, ibid., p.229, Note 25. Text, 2008, p.121. Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.280. 131 Theodor W. Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, ibid.,

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p.96. Klinger, with his vaguely outlined notion of Panorama. Tate Modern, London, Neue National- mean preserving and keeping, but also eliminating mimesis, has nothing to in common with the Post- galerie Berlin, Centre Pompidou, Musée National or eradicating, and finally elevating or uplifting as structuralists (especially Barthes, but also Derrida, d’Art Moderne, Paris, 2011–12, p.27. well. This happens with fragments of memory in Deleuze, and Lyotard), who oppose the conven- 156 John Cage, Silence, Middletown, Ct, 50th anniv the photographs, which were the starting point of tional privilegizing of mimesis because they under- ersary ed., 2011, p.114. the work and which are conserved in the painting— stand it as the ideologically suspect reissue of the 157 Storr, Cage: Six Paintings by Gerhard Richter, ibid., albeit no longer directly visible. They are overcome readymade, that is, as a language game that does p.81. and eliminated, and at the same time experience an not recognize itself as such. Cf. Martin Jay, “Mime- 158 Storr, Cage: Six Paintings by Gerhard Richter, ibid., elevation in a picture which differently deals with sis und Mimetologie. Adorno und Lacoue- p.86. the theme again and, instead of a fragment of the Labarthe,” in: Auge und Affekt, Wahrnehmung und 159 Klinger, ibid., pp.104 ff.. memory, provokes an emotional representation: an Interaktion, ed. Gertrud Koch, Frankfurt 1995, p.176. 160 Klinger, ibid., p.109. unmistakably melancholic mood radiating from the 132 Klinger. ibid., p.24. 161 Klinger, ibid., pp.110–11. the painting Birkenau.” Ibid. (Note 121), p.15. 133 Cf. on the following Armin Zweite, “Die ‘Silikat’- 162 Klinger, ibid., p.113. 186 Cf. Friedel, ibid., p.12 Bilder von Gerhard Richter und andere Mikrostruk- 163 Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Gerhard Richter’s New 187 Cf. Friedel, ibid., p.15. turen,” in: Gerhard Richter, Silikat. Kulturstiftung der Abstractions: Infinite and Infinitesimal,” in: exhib. 188 Cf. Friedel, ibid., p.7. Länder, Patrimonia 322, Düsseldorf 2007, pp.6 ff. cat. Gerhard Richter, Abstract Paintings, Marian 189 Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, ibid., p.85. 134 For example, Benjamin H. D. Buchloh 2004 in an Goodman Gallery, Paris 2008, p.68. 190 Cf. Hans Ulrich Reck, Das Bild zeigt das Bild selber interview with Gerhard Richter. Cf. Richter, Text, 164 Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Gerhard Richter: Voids als Abwesendes. Vienna, New York 2007, pp.63–4. 2008. p.496. & Whites: The Last Paintings before the Last,” in: 191 Adorno, ibid., p.90. 135 Richter, Text, 2008, ibid., p.486 exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Abstract Paintings 2009. 192 Ivan Lefkovits, “Holocaust vollendet—unvollendet,” 136 Gerhard Richter, Editionen 1965–2004. Catalogue Marian Goodman Gallery, New York 2009, pp.98–9. in: “Mit meiner Vergangenheit lebe ich.” Memoiren von raisonné, eds. Hubertus Butin and Stefan Gronert. 165 Niklas Luhmann, Die Kunst der Gesellschaft, Frankfurt Holocaust-Überlebenden, ed. Ivan Lefkovits with Ostfildern-Ruit 2004, No. 112. 1995, p.395. “Autopoiesis” is the ability to sustain 15 images by Gerhard Richter, Berlin 2016, issue 16, 137 F. J. Geißibl, S. Hembacher, H. Bielefeldt, and oneself. pp.9–10. J. Mannhart, “Subatomic Features on the Silicon 166 Klinger, ibid., p.229, Note 25. 193 Richter, Text, 2008, p.187. (111)-(7x7) Surface Observed by Atomic Force 167 Klinger stated that that art ignites itself through the 194 Richter, Text, 2008, p.146. Microscopy,” in: Science, No. 5478, vol. 289, July 21, inadequacy and negativity of the world; however, as 195 Cf. Klinger, ibid., p.150. 2000, p.425. a successful form, it cannot be other than positivity 196 Cf. Georges Didi-Huberman, who wrote to Richter: 138 Hubertus Butin, “Konstruierte Sichtbarkeit— and affirmation in itself. Cf. Klinger, ibid., p.127. “Starting with the four photographs that I have Gerhard Richters Erster Blick im Kontext nano 168 Cf. Dorothée Brill, “Da hört es auf,” in: exhib. cat. called ‘images in spite of everything’, you intend technologischer Visualisierungen,” in: frame #2. Gerhard Richter, Panorama, ibid., p.243 to paint four large ‘after-images in spite of every- Jahrbuch der Deutschen Gesellschaft für 169 Gerhard Richter, Birkenau, Cologne 2015. thing,’ four subsequent artistic decisions, four Fotografie, 2008. p.113. 170 Mémoire des camps, Photographies des camps de concen- sensual figures of a historical afterthought or 139 Said Richter in an interview with Peter Sager in tration et d’extermination nazis (1933–1999), ed. an ‘afterlife’ of these images of death.” 1972. Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.65. C. Chéroux. Paris 2001, pp.219 ff. Didi-Huberman, Die Malerei in ihrem aporetischen 140 Gerhard Richter, Editionen 1965–2013, Nos. 126–129. 171 Georges Didi-Huberman, Images malgré tout, Paris Moment, ibid., p.49. 141 Cf. Hans Blumenberg, The Genesis of the Copernican 2004. The English edition is entitled Images in spite 197 I am taking this reference from Patrick Bahners’ World, vol. 3: Der kopernikanische Komparativ; of all, Chicago 2012. review of Nikolaus Wachsmann’s book KL in the die kopernikanische Optik (1975). Cambridge, Mass, 172 “I have nothing to say, and I am saying it.” FAZ dated May 4, 2016 (p.11). 2nd ed. 2000, p.745. Conversation between Gerhard Richter and 198 Jacques Rancière, “Über das Undarstellbare,” in: 142 Blumenberg, ibid., p.643. Nicholas Serota, spring 2011, in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Rancière, Politik der Bilder, Berlin 2005, p.132. 143 Richter, Text, 2008, p.14. Richter, Panorama. Tate Modern, London; Neue 199 Jacques Rancière. “Die Malerei im Text,” in: 144 Richter, Text, 2008, p.60. Nationalgalerie, Berlin; Centre Pompidou, Musée Rancière, Politik der Bilder, Berlin 2005, p.94. 145 Richter, Text, 2008, p.65. National d’Art Moderne, Paris 2011–12, p.25. 200 Rancière, ibid., p.95. 146 Richter, Text, 2008, p.121. 173 Richter, ibid., p.25. 201 Cf. exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Neue Bilder. Museum 147 Richter, Text, 2008, p.121. 174 Theodor W. Adorno, “Was bedeutet: Aufarbeitung Ludwig, Cologne, February 9–May 1, 2017, and 148 Here I am referring to Hartmut Böhme, “Was sieht der Vergangenheit 1959,” in: Adorno, Erziehung zur Albertinum, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, man, wenn man sieht? Zur Nutzung von Bildern in Mündigkeit. Vorträge und Gespräche mit Helmut Becker May 20–August 27, 2017. den neuzeitlichen Wissenschaften,” in: Frankfurter 1959–1969, ed. Gerd Kadelbach, Frankfurt 1971, p.22. 202 Rita Kersting, in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Allgemeine Zeitung, Jan. 8, 2005, p.38. 175 Richter, Atlas, 2006, No. 807–8. Cf. Helmut Neue Bilder, Cologne 2017, p.70. 149 Gerhard Richter, Editionen 1965–2013. Catalogue Friedel, “Gerhard Richter. Aufgehoben im Bild— raisonné, eds. Hubertus Butin, Stefan Gronert, Zum Birkenau-Bild,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Thomas Olbricht. Ostfildern-Ruit 2014, No. 112. Birkenau, ed. Helmut Friedel. Museum Frieder 14. overpainted photographs, books and 150 Robert Storr, Cage: Six Paintings by Gerhard Richter, Burda, Cologne 2016, pp.7 ff. pictures, oil paint on photographs London 2009. 176 Elger, p.125. 151 The starting point in this case is gestural painting 177 Richter, Atlas, 2006, No. 16–23. 1 Cf. Markus Heinzelmann, “Verwischungen. Die with its “Formeln und Schablonen der ungestümen 178 “I have nothing to say, and I am saying it.” Conver- übermalten Fotografien von Gerhard Richter als Erfindung, mit der er [Richter] nie ganz ins Reine sation between Gerhard Richter and Nicholas Sero- Objekte der Betrachtung,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard gekommen ist, von der er sich aber auch nie ganz ta, spring 2011, in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Richter, Übermalte Fotografien, ed. Markus Heinzel- losgesagt hat. Die gestische Malerei mitsamt all Panorama, Tate Modern, London, Neue National- mann, Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen 2008, p.85. dem, was sie repräsentiert, ist das Opferlamm, Ver- galerie, Berlin, Centre Georges Pompidou, Musée 2 Heinzelmann, ibid., pp.80 ff. malung ist das Mittel.” Robert Storr, Cage: Six Paint- National d’Art Moderne, Paris 2011, 2012, p.25. 3 Richter, Text, 2008, p.211. ings by Gerhard Richter, ibid., p.68. 179 Georges Didi-Huberman, “Aus dem Planen heraus,” 4 Cf. Richter, Atlas, Nos. 468 and 469. 152 Robert Storr, Cage: Six Paintings by Gerhard Richter, in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Bilder/Serien, ed. Hans 5 Cf. Uwe M. Schneede, “Die Realität, das Foto, die ibid., p.54. Ulrich Obrist, Fondation Beyerler, Riehen/Basel Farbe und das Bild,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, 153 Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.420. The addition in brack- 2014, pp.159–60. Übermalte Fotografien, ed. Markus Heinzelmann, ets by the author. 180 Georges Didi-Huberman, “Die Malerei in ihrem Ostfildern 2008, pp.193 ff. 154 Cf. John Cage, Silence, CT, 50th anniversary ed., aporetischen Moment,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard 6 The combination of abstract and real elements, 2011, p.5. Richter, Birkenau, eds. Helmut Friedel, Museum however, could only lead to a fruitful goal for 155 Later, Richter significantly restricted the meaning of Frieder Burda 2016, p.34. Kandinsky if the mind manifested here as well as the Cage quote, when he said to Nicholas Serota: 181 Theodor W. Adorno, Kulturkritik und Gesellschaft, there, either as “composition (that is, obeying the “Well, a sentiment like that is very close to my own Gesammelte Schriften, vol. 10/1, ed. Rolf inner call)” or as “construction (standing on an reluctance to talk, and it also seems to me a very Tiedemann, Frankfurt 1977, p.30. inner base)” (cf. Wassily Kandinsky, “Über die valid critique of all the overblown statements we 182 Didi-Huberman, ibid., p.40. Formfrage,” in: Der Blaue Reiter, eds. Wassily hear. But above all, in my view Cage is a very great 183 Didi-Huberman, ibid., p.49. Kandinsky and Franz Marc, Documentary new musician. The way he handles chance, whether in 184 This can be surmised from a photograph of edition by Klaus Lankheit, Munich 1965, pp.174 and his I Ching pieces, or other everyday noises.” Didi-Hubermans, ibid., fig. p.30. 181). However, according to Kandinsky, “a spiritual Cf. “I have nothing to say, and I am saying it.” Con- 185 Cf. Friedel, ibid., p.15, who used the German verb life” should manifest and embody itself in strong, versation between Gerhard Richter and Nicholas aufheben as a starting point for an interesting inter- expressive, and definite forms. With his representa- Serota, spring 2011, in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, pretation of the painting. Aufheben, he said, can tional and abstract works Richter seems to be cre-

467 notes

ating a link to what Kandinsky tried to bring to a 22 Friedrich Nietzsche, Werke in drei Bänden, ed. Karl Museion Bozen 2011–12, pp.64 ff. common denominator according to his motto Schlechta, Munich 1966, vol. 2., p.1,145. 61 Richter, Text, 2008, p.160. “Opposites and contradictions—this is our 23 Cf. Peter André Bloch, “‘Rings nur Welle und 62 The exhibition, in cooperation with the Goethe harmony” (cf. Wassily Kandinsky, Über das Geistige Spiel’ oder das Problem der Vereinigung von Institut Lebanon, took place at the im Beirut Art in der Kunst, 10th ed. Bern 1973, p.109). Phantasie und Wirklichkeit im Bild,” in: Gerhard Center from April 27 until June 16, 2012. 7 By employing a pragmatic concept of art, Florian Richter, Sils, 63 Cf. Achim Borchardt-Hume, “Painting (on) Photo- Klinger has characterized the relationship between ed. Hans-Ulrich Obrist, revised new edition, graphs,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter—Beirut. figurative and abstract painting, which is, after all, Cologne 2002, p.70. Beirut Art Center, London and Cologne 2011, p.40. not only a theme in Richter’s landscapes. According 24 Richter, Editionen, No. 14. 64 Gerhard Richter, Patterns, Cologne 2011 to him, the abstract images liberate the mimet- 25 Richter, Editionen, No. 77. 65 Richter, Editionen, No. 141–44. ic-performative release of arbitrarily large masses of 26 Cf. Dieter Schwarz, “Glas Streifen Glas. Neue 66 Dieter Schwarz, “Glas, Streifen, Glas. Neue Werke association, but they are limited in their deictic Werke von Gerhard Richter 2010–2013,” in: exhib. von Gerhard Richter,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter: alignment. Thus, they are connected in an—albeit— cat. Gerhard Richter: Streifen & Glas, Staatliche Streifen & Glas. Staatliche Kunstsammlungen broad yet not sufficiently focused way to the reality Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Galerie Neue Meis- Dresden. Galerie Neue Meister, Kunstmuseum of the world to which they respond. The represen- ter; Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Cologne 2013, Winterthur. Cologne 2013, p.35. tational images form a maximum hard and infallible p.33. 67 Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Das Zufalls-Ornament: reference to the pain that cannot be avoided, but 27 Richter, Editionen, No. 86. Malerei des Fortschritts, Malerei des Verlusts,” this at the cost of a reduced association potential 28 Richter, Editionen, No. 100. in: Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, ‘Scheiben’ und ‘Strips’ vis-a-vis the abstracts, a relatively reduced perfor- 29 Richter, Editionen, No. 124. von Gerhard Richter, Cologne 2013 (Schriften des mative performance. The ensemble of figurative 30 Richter, Editionen, No. 135. Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden, vol. 10, ed. and abstract images, says Klinger, achieves the full 31 Richter, Editionen, No. 140. Dietmar Elger), p.51. eschatological program: maximum performance 32 Richter, Editionen, No. 147. Not to be confused with 68 Schwarz, ibid., p.35. with maximum painfulness of world reference. Edition No. 58 of 1991, which has the same name. 69 Schwarz, ibid., p.38. Cf. Florian Klinger, Theorie der Form. Gerhard Richter 33 Richter, Editionen, No. 124. 70 Schwarz, ibid., p.38. und die Kunst des pragmatischen Zeitalters. Munich 34 Richter, Editionen, No. 125. 71 Schwarz, ibid., p.39. 2013, pp.163–4. Klinger also emphasizes the prima- 35 Guido Meincke, Gerhard Richter—Zeitgenossenschaft. 72 Schwarz, ibid., p.38. cy of abstraction over mimetic representations in Munich 2013, p.138. 73 Buchloh, ibid., p.56. other places. 36 Richter, Text, 2008. p.463. 74 Schwarz, ibid., p.40. 8 Richter, Editionen, No. 110. 37 Robert Storr, September. A History Painting by 75 Schwarz, ibid., p.39. 9 Cf. Hubertus Butin, Gerhard Richter, Unikate in Serie / Gerhard Richter, London 2009, pp.20–21. 76 Schwarz, ibid., p.40.—There is, for example, a super- Unique Pieces in Series, Cologne 2017, p.92. 38 Cf. William J.T. Mitchell, “Den Terror klonen. Der ficial similarity with a work by Tom Friedman dating 10 Klinger discovered in an overpainted photograph Krieg der Bilder 2001–2004,” in: Iconic Worlds. from 1998 (at the Metropolitan Museum, New of a mountainscape from 1989 that the representa- Neue Bilderwelten und Wissensräume, eds. Christa York). The artist presents himself as a human bar tional structure was completely disassembled by Maar and Hubert Burda, Cologne 2006, pp.255 ff., code by stretching, with the help of his computer, the pastose color applied to the photograph, thus specifically on the Twin Towers pp.261 ff. a very narrow vertical stripe of a photographic dissolving the representative self-evidential nature 39 Cf. Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations self-portrait, creating a horizontal image of very of the photograph into a representational surface, and the Remaking of World Order. New York 1996. thin color stripes. which seems to insist on being a part of performa- 40 Cf. Robert Storr, September. A History Painting by 77 Cf. Hubertus Butin, “Gerhard Richters Editionen tive order of form. The mountainscape stops being Gerhard Richter. London 2009, p.50. und die Diskurse der Bilder,” in: Richter, Editionen, easily identifiable; it alternates between pure form 41 The illustrations I–IV each measure 151 x 102 cm, p.61. and the constitution of the figurative—and so reproductions in Storr, ibid. pp.30–31. The prepa- 78 Barnett Newman, Selected Writings and Interviews, allows us to participate in the morphogenesis, the ratory drawing for the painting, however, mea- ed. John P. O’Neill, Berkeley and Los Angeles 1992, becoming of the form.” Cf. Florian Klinger, Theorie sures 52 x 72 cm, like the canvas, and is a p.307. der Form. Gerhard Richter und die Kunst des pragma- meticulous representation of the architecture, 79 Cf. “A Symposium on How to Combine Architec- tischen Zeitalters, Munich 2013, pp.47–8. What one including the pervading clouds of fire and smoke. ture, Painting and Sculpture,” in: Interiors, vol. 90, reads seems reasonable, but to my mind, the visu- Fig. in Storr, September, p.32. No. 10, May 1951, p.104. Here cited after Diane al result does not correspond with what is stated. 42 Richter, Text, 2008, p.527. Waldman, Mark Rothko, New York 1978, p.62. The illusionism of the photograph is, ultimately, 43 Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, ibid., p.154. 80 Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, ibid., p.39. incompatible with the added oil color, so that one 44 Storr, September, ibid., pp.52–3. 81 Cf. Richter, Editionen, Nos. 95, 96. cannot speak of morphogenesis. 45 I essentially follow the presentation of Buchloh. 82 Buchloh, ibid., p.67. 11 In a conversation in his studio in February 2016. Cf. Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Gerhard Richter’s 83 Buchloh, ibid., pp.60–61. 12 Cf. Gerhard Richter, Editionen 1965–2013, eds. New Abstractions: Infinite and Infinitesimal,” in: 84 Buchloh, ibid., pp.64–5 Hubertus Butin, Stefan Gronert, Thomas Olbricht, exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Abstract Paintings, 85 Richter said in an interview in 2005: “For me, beau- Ostfildern 2014, No. 3. Marian Goodman Gallery, Paris 2008, pp.70–1. ty has always been a factor in determining the qual- 13 Dieter Schwarz, “Künstlerbücher von Gerhard 46 Jacques Rancière, “Are some things unrepresent- ity of a work of art . . . Viewed simply, beauty is the Richter?,” in: Hans Ulrich Obrist and Dieter able?” in: Rancière, The Future of the Image, Berlin opposite of destruction, disintegration and damage. Schwarz, Gerhard Richter “Bücher.” Schriften des 2007, p.109 ff. This means it can’t be separated from form, with- Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden, vol. 11, ed. 47 Rancière, ibid., p.129. out which nothing can be created.” Cf. Richter, Text, Dietmar Elger, Dresden 2013, p.13. 48 Rancière. ibid., p.121. 2008, p.505–6. 14 Gerhard Richter in an interview with Hans Ulrich 49 Storr, September, ibid., pp.67–8. 86 Richter, Text, 2008, p.515. For Klinger, form has to Obrist, in: Hans Ulrich Obrist and Dieter Schwarz, 50 Cf. Richter, Editionen, No. 131. perform a special eschatological task which means Gerhard Richter “Bücher,” ibid., p.39. 51 Richter, Editionen, Nos. 113–6. it is not subject to any purpose other than commu- 15 Dieter Schwarz, “Künstlerbücher von Richter?,” 52 Richter, Editionen, No. 139. nitization itself. While photographs fulfill that pur- ibid., p.12. 53 Storr, September, ibid., p.71. pose, the painting is ultimately only there to make 16 Gerhard Richter, Atlas van de foto’s en schetsen, 54 Richter, Text, 2008, p.461. us assemble around it. Cf. Florian Klinger, Theorie Museum Hedendaagse Kunst, Utrecht 1972. 55 Cf. Richter, Editionen, No. 135. der Form, Gerhard Richter und die Kunst des pragma- Cf. Richter, Editionen, No. 49. 56 Cf. Karen Lang, “Richter’s Painting, Richter’s Hope,” tischen Zeitalters, Munich 2913, p.152. 17 Gerhard Richter, Graue Bilder. A leporello and leaf- in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Early Work 1951–1972, 87 Cf. Richter, Editionen, No. 145. let with 12 reproductions was published in Decem- eds. Christine Mehring, Jeanne Anne Nugent, 88 Sinbad is the sailor in Arabian Nights; Ifrit refers to ber 1974 to accompany the exhibition of the same Jon. L. Seydl, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los an Arab spirit made of fire, who can mean good name at the Städtisches Museum Mönchenglad- Angeles 2010, pp.157 ff. or bad things to humans; Perisade is the beautiful bach (Richter, Editionen, ibid., No. 54) and Gerhard 57 Cf. Bernd Weyergraf, “Deutsche Wälder,” in: daughter of the Caliph of Bukhara; Abdallah, which Richter, Galleria Pieroni. Roma. The artist’s book exhib. cat. Waldungen. Die Deutschen und ihr Wald. means “servant of God,” is the first name of without reproductions, but with a text by Bruno Akademie der Künste, Berlin 1987, p.11. Muhammad’s father. Corà, was produced for an exhibition in spring 58 Elias Canetti, Masse und Macht, vol. 1, Munich 1976, 89 Marcus du Sautoy, Das Geheimnis der Symmetrie. 1980. (Richter, Editionen, ibid., No. 55). pp.190–91. Mathematiker entschlüsseln ein Rätsel der Natur, 18 Richter, Text, 2008, p.114. 59 Cf. Volker Graf, Werner Graf, “Auf dem Wald Munich 2011, pp.108–9. 19 Richter, Editionen, No. 100. lehrpfad,” in: exhib. cat. Waldungen, ibid., p.80. 90 Marcus du Sautoy, ibid., p.119. 20 Richter, Editionen, No. 59. 60 Cf. Guido de Werd, “Wörter als Skulpturen,” in: 91 Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.57. 21 Richter, Editionen, No. 79. exhib. cat. Carl Andre, Museum Kurhaus Kleve and 92 Richter, Text, 2008. p.60.

468 notes

93 Richter, Text, 2008, p.120. where he says, “A painting can help us to think 94 Cf. Martin Kemp, Seen / Unseen. Art, Science, and something that goes beyond this senseless exis- the Intuition from Leonardo to the Hubble Telescope. tence. That’s something art can do.” Richter, Text, Oxford University Press 2006, p.322. 2008, p.431. 95 Kemp, ibid., p.315. 30 In conversation with Birgit Grimm in 2000, ibid., 96 Kemp, ibid., p.330. p.354. 97 Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, ibid., p.79. 31 Richter said to his daughter Babette Richter in 2002, ibid., p.447. concluding remarks 32 Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.299. 33 Interview with Robert Storr, Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, 1 In conversation with Robert Storr (2002) he said: p.446 in the German original. “I can’t explain why I have such an aversion to 34 Interview with Jan Thorn-Prikker 2004, Cf. Richter, collages. To me it always seemed cheap, and it was Text, 2008, p.470. too sloppy, too loose. I always wanted to make a 35 Ibid., p.475. painting.” Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.419. 36 Interview with Benjamin H. D. Buchloh 2004, 2 Cf. Dieter Schwarz, “Zwei Landschaften von Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.491. Gerhard Richter,” in: Texte zu Werken im Kunst 37 Cf. Martin Warnke, Hofkünstler. Zur Vorgeschichte museum Winterthur, Düsseldorf 2000, p.239. des modernen Künstlers. Cologne 1985 3 Note dated Feb 25, 1986, Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, 38 Note dated Jan. 3, 1988, Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.160. p.200. 4 Cf. exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Tate Gallery, 39 Note dated June 3, 1992, Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, London 1991, pp.125–130; reprinted in: Richter, Text, p.277. pp.264 ff. 40 Richter, Text, 2008, p.372. 5 Richter, Text, 2008, p.280 (Dec. 11, 1992). 41 Cf. Richter, Editionen 2014, No. 92. 6 Richter, Text, 2008, p.288. 42 Richter is here obviously referring to the so-called 7 Richter, Text, 2008, p.22 (Notes 1964–7). “crucifix judgment.” On May 16, 1995, the Federal 8 Richter, Text, 2008, p.282. Constitutional Court declared the wearing of cruci- 9 Richter, Text, 2008, p.299. fixes in Bavarian schools as inadmissible (excepting 10 To Henri-François Debailleux, Richter said in 1993: confessional schools). “I’ve just remained extremely attached to a culture 43 Richter, Text, 2008, p.448. of painting.” (Richter, Text, 2008, p.308); to Astrid 44 Interview with Jan Thorn-Prikker, 2004, cf. Richter, Kasper he said in 2000: Tradition “enriches our Text, 2008, p.484. Richter received the commission lives . . . We are bearers of this tradition. That’s our for designing the window in the southern transept task.” (ibid., pp.369–70.) So, in hindsight, even in of Cologne Cathedral in 2002. the phase of upheaval and change, when he grap- 45 Interview with Hans Ulrich Obrist, 2006, cf. Richter, pled with Minimal and Conceptual art, perceiving it Text, 2008, pp.538–9 (only in the German original). as “a kind of craze if you like, which carries you and 46 Friedrich Nietzsche, The Birth of Tragedy: Out lets you be very productive,” he says he was never of the Spirit of Music (1872), London, New York, abandoned by skepticism and the “constant aware- 1994, p.108. ness of certain traditions or skills I had attained,” 47 Interview with Benjamin H. D. Buchloh 2004, which accompanied him like guardians (ibid., Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.505. p.454). He would prefer to be understood as the 48 Ibid., p.493. “the keeper of tradition,” as he said in 2002, to 49 Klinger said that art ignites itself through the inade- “rather that than any other misunderstandings” quacy and negativity of the world; however, as a (ibid., p.439). successful form, it cannot be other than positivity 11 Richter, Text, 2008, p.419. and affirmation in itself. Klinger, ibid., p.127. 12 Richter, Text, 2008, pp.511. 50 Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, ibid., p.1129. 13 “Ich habe nichts zu sagen, und ich sage es.” Nicho- 51 Richter, Text, 2008, p.417. las Serota and Gerhard Richter, in: exhib. cat. Ger- 52 Richter, Text, 2008, p.97. hard Richter, Panorama, Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin, 53 Richter, Text, 2008, p.215. And in an interview with 2012, p.15. Zdenek Felix in 1984, Richter said: “Perhaps there 14 Richter, Text, 2008, p.56. is no real difference between representational and 15 Richter, Text, 2008, p.81. non-representational pictures . . . Both kinds are 16 Richter, Text, 2008, p.115. pictures; that’s to say; never mind what they repre- 17 Richter, Text, 2008, p.146. sent, they use the same methods to do it: They 18 Richter, Text, 2008, p.158. seem, they are not what they depict but a sem- 19 Richter, Text, 2008, pp.191. blance of it.” In: Gerhard Richter, Armin Zweite, 20 Richter, Text, 2008, p.443. Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen. Here cited 21 Richter, Text, 2008, p.423. after Ulrich Look and Denys Zacharopoulos, 22 Cf. Immanuel Kant, Critique of Judgment (1790), Gerhard Richter. Munich 1985, p.37, Note 53. translated by Werner S. Pluhar, 1987, p.229. 54 Rüdiger Bubner, “Über einige Bedingungen gegen- 23 Gernot Böhme, Atmosphäre. Essays zur neuen wärtiger Ästhetik” (1973), in: Ästhetische Erfahrung, Ästhetik, Berlin 2014, p.300. Frankfurt 1989, p.38. 24 Richter, Text, 2008, p.121. In 2004, he repeats this 55 Bubner, ibid., p.41. statement to Buchloh, ibid., p.498. 56 Martin Seel, Aesthetics of Appearing. Stanford UNi- 25 In an interview with Amine Hase, 1982. Ibid., p.128. versity Press, (2000) 2004, p.119. Also in a note dated March 17, 1986 (ibid., p.191); 57 Klaus Krüger, “Der Blick ins Innere des Bildes. and in an interview with Christiane Vielhaber, in Ästhetische Illusion bei Gerhard Richter,” in: 1986 (ibid., p.159). Pantheon, 53, 1995, p.164. 26 Richter, Text, 2008. p.134. Richter comments 58 Albrecht Wellmer, “Wahrheit, Schein, Versöhnung. similarly in conversation with Wolfgang Pehnt, Adornos ästhetische Rettung der Modernität,” in: ibid., p.134. Adorno-Konferenz 1983, eds. Ludwig von Friedeburg 27 Notiz vom 28.3.1986, Cf. Richter, Text, 2008, p.161. and Jürgen Habermas. Frankfurt 1983, p.142. 28 Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, London, New York 1997, 59 Richter, Text, p.137. p.32. 60 Adorno, Aesthetic Theory, ibid., p.228–9. 29 Richter, Text, 2008, p.213. He comments similarly to Robert Storr: “Painting is the only positive thing I have. Even if I see everything else negatively, at least in the pictures I can communicate some kind of hope. I can at least carry on.” Ibid., p.393. Else-

469 selected bibliography

books by gerhard richter Gerhard Richter, Obrist/O’brist, Cologne 2009. vol. 2: Nos. 198–388 (1968–1976), Berlin 2017 polke/richter. richter/polke. Galerie h, Hannover 1966. Gerhard Richter, Elbe. 31 Monotypien 1957, Cologne vol. 3: Nos. 389–651-2 (1976–1987), Ostfildern 2013 vol. 4: Nos. 652-1–805-6 (1988–1994), Ostfildern Gerhard Richter, Atlas van de foto’s en schetsen, ed. 2009 (Schriften des Gerhard Richter Archiv 2015 Wouter Kotte, Hedendaagse Kunst, Utrecht 1972. Dresden, No. 4). Gerhard Richter, Atlas, ed. Fred Jahn, Munich 1989. Gerhard Richter, Text. Writings, Interviews and Letters, eds. Dietmar Elger and Hans Ulrich Obrist, solo exhibitions Gerhard Richter, Atlas der Fotos, Collagen und Skizzen, London 2009. eds. Helmut Friedel and Ulrich Wilmes, Cologne Manfred Kuttner/Gerd Richter, Düsseldorf. Galerie 1997. Gerhard Richter, Sindbad, Cologne 2010. Junge Kunst, Fulda, September 8–30, 1962. Gerhard Richter, Atlas, eds. Helmut Friedel and Ulrich Alexander Kluge/Gerhard Richter, Dezember Gerd Richter/Konrad Lueg, Leben mit Pop—Eine Wilmes, London 1997. (Alexander Kluge, 39 Geschichten/Gerhard Demonstration für den kapitalistischen Realismus. Richter, 39 images), Frankfurt 2010. Möbelhaus Berges, Düsseldorf, October 11–25, Gerhard Richter, 128 details from a picture (Halifax 1978), 1963. The Nova Scotia Pamphlets, No. 2, ed. Benjamin Gerhard Richter, Eis, Cologne 2011. H. D. Buchloh, Halifax 1980. Gerhard Richter, Atlas, ed. Helmut Friedel. D.A.P., Gerd Richter, Fotobilder, Porträts und Familien, Galerie Frie- drich und Dahlem, Munich, June 10–July 10, 1964. Gerhard Richter, 128 details from a picture (Halifax New York 2011 1978). Halifax 1980. Gerhard Richter, Night Sketches, London 2011. Gerd Richter. Galerie Schmela, Düsseldorf, September 9–30, 1964. Gerhard Richter, Eis. Edizione Galleria Pieroni, Gerhard Richter, Patterns, London and Cologne 2011. Rome 1981. Thames Hudson, London 2012. Gerd Richter, Bilder des Kapitalistischen Realismus. Galerie René Block, Berlin, November 18, 1964– Gerhard Richter, Sils. ed. Hans Ulrich Obrist, Gerhard Richter, Beirut, London and Cologne 2012. January 5, 1965. Munich, Stuttgart 1992 (revised new ed. Cologne Alexander Kluge / Gerhard Richter, December Richter/Polke. Galerie h, Hannover, March 1–26, 1966. and New York 2002, 3rd ed. Madrid 2009). (The German List), New York 2012. Konrad Lueg/Gerhard Richter. Die beste Ausstellung Gerhard Richter, Text. Schriften und Interviews, ed. Gerhard Richter, November, London 2015. Hans-Ulrich Obrist, Frankfurt 1993. Deutschlands. Galerie Patio, Frankfurt, Alexander Kluge / Gerhard Richter, Nachricht von ruhi- September 9–30, 1966. Gerhard Richter, The Daily Practice of Painting, Writings gen Momenten (Alexander Kluge, 89 Geschichten/ Gerhard Richter, Farbtafeln. Galerie Friedrich und 1962–1993, ed. Hans Ulrich Obrist, MIT Press, Gerhard Richter, 64 Bilder), Frankfurt 2013. Cambridge, Mass. 1995. Dahlem, October 11–27, 1966. Gerhard Richter, Comic Strip (1962), Cologne 2014 Gerhard Richter, Abstraktes Bild 825-11, 69 Details, Gerhard Richter, “Volker Bradke.” Galerie Schmela, (Schriften des Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden, Düsseldorf, December 13, 1966. ed. Hans Ulrich Obrist, Frankfurt and Leipzig 1996 vol. 13). (French ed. Paris; Engl. ed. Zürich, Berlin, Gerhard Richter, Neue Bilder. Galerie Heiner Friedrich, New York 1996). Gerhard Richter, Atlas in Four Volumes, ed. Helmut Munich, May 2–June 4, 1967. Friedel, Cologne 2015. Gerhard Richter, Atlas. eds. Helmut Friedel and Ulrich, Gerhard Richter, Städte. Galerie René Block, Berlin, London 1997. Gerhard Richter, Birkenau (93 Details aus meinem January 17–February 15, 1969. Bild Birkenau), Cologne 2015, 2016. Gerhard Richter, 66 Zeichnungen, Halifax 1978, Kaiser Gerhard Richter. Gegenverkehr. Zentrum für aktuelle Wilhelm Museum Krefeld, Cologne 1997. Alexander Kluge / Gerhard Richter, Dispatches from Kunst, Aachen, March 28–April 19, 1969. Moments of Calm (The German List), New York, 2016. Gerhard Richter, 128 Fotos von einem Bild/128 Details Gerhard Richter. Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts, from a Picture, Halifax 1978 III, Cologne 1998. Gerhard Richter—40 Tage, London 2017. February 12–March 1, 1970 Gerhard Richter, 128 Fotos von einem Bild/128 Details Gerhard Richter. Galerie Konrad Fischer, Düsseldorf, from a Picture, Halifax 1978 IV, Cologne 1998 biographies April 11–May 7, 1970. (special edition; also contains a black and white Dietmar Elger, Gerhard Richter, Maler, Cologne 2002 Gerhard Richter/Blinky Palermo, Für Salvadore Dalí. photograph overpainted with gray oil paint). (2nd ed. Cologne 2008; 3rd ed. Cologne 2018). Galerie Ernst, Hannover, Gerhard Richter, Firenze, ed. Dietmar Elger, Dietmar Elger, Gerhard Richter. A Life in Painting, October 10–November 7, 1970. Ostfildern-Ruit 2001. Chicago 2009. Gerhard Richter, Graphik 1965–1970. Museum Folkwang Gerhard Richter, Florence, ed. Dietmar Elger. Berlin Essen, October 15–31, 1970. 2001. catalogues raisonnés Richter/Palermo. Galerie Heiner Friedrich, Cologne, Gerhard Richter, War Cut, eds. Suzanne Pagé and April 21–May 15, 1971. Hans Ulrich Obrist, Paris and Cologne 2004. Gerhard Richter, Zeichnungen 1964–1999, Werk verzeichnis, ed. Dieter Schwarz, Winterthur Gerhard Richter. Arbeiten 1962–1971. Kunstverein für Gerhard Richter, Atlas, ed. Helmut Friedel, Cologne and Cologne 1999. die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf, 2006 (3rd ed. Cologne 2013). June 22–August 22, 1971. Gerhard Richter, Editionen 1965–2013, eds. Hubertus Gerhard Richter, Snow-White, Wako Works of Art, Butin, Stefan Gronert, Thomas Olbricht, Gerhard Richter. 180 Farben. Kabinett für aktuelle Kunst, Tokyo 2006. Ostfildern 2014. Bremerhaven, October 9–November 7, 1971. Gerhard Richter, Text, 1961 bis 2007, Schriften, Interviews, Gerhard Richter, Catalogue Raisonné, Gerhard Richter / Blinky Palermo. Galerie Heiner Briefe, eds. Dietmar Elger and Hans Ulrich Obrist, ed. Dietmar Elger, Gerhard Richter Archiv/ Friedrich, Cologne, March 18–April 12, 1972. Cologne 2008. Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden Gerhard Richter. German Pavilion, 36th Venice Biennale, Gerhard Richter, Wald, Cologne 2008. vol. 1: Nos. 1–198 (1962–1968), Ostfildern 2011 June 11–October 1, 1972.

471 selected bibliography

Gerhard Richter, 48 Portraits Suermondt-Ludwig- Gerhard Richter. Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de 2009; Centre de la Photographie Genève, Geneva, Museum, Aachen, October 15–November 19, 1972. Paris, September 23–November 21, 1993; Kunst- February 20–April 12, 2008. Gerhard Richter, Atlas van de foto’s en schetsen. und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutsch- Gerhard Richter, Abstrakte Bilder. Museum Ludwig, Hedendaagse Kunst, Utrecht, land, Bonn, December 10,1993—February 13, 1994; Cologne, October 18, 2008–February 1, 2009; December 1–30, 1972. Moderna Museet, Stockholm, March 12– May 8, Haus der Kunst, Munich, February 27–May 17, 1994; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, 2009. Gerhard Richter. Kunstmuseum Luzern, January 21– Madrid, June 7–August 22, 1994. February 25, and Städtische Galerie im Lenbach- Gerhard Richter – Retrospektive. Albertina, Vienna, haus, Munich, May 23–July 1, 1973. Gerhard Richter, Painting in the Nineties. Anthony d’Offay January 30–May 3, 2009. Gallery, London, June 1–August 4, 1995. Gerhard Richter, Graue Bilder. Städtisches Museum Gerhard Richter, Portaits: Painting Appearances. Mönchengladbach, December 4, 1974– Gerhard Richter, 100 Bilder. Carré d’Art, Musée d’Art National Portrait Gallery, London, January 12, 1975. Contemporain, Nîmes, June 15–September 15, 1996. February 26–May 31, 2009. Gerhard Richter. Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, Gerhard Richter, Bilder aus den Jahren 1962–1974, Kunst Gerhard Richter, Abstract Paintings 2009. Marian January 31–April 12, 1998. halle Bremen, November 30, 1975–January 18, 1976. Goodman Gallery, New York, November 7, 2009– Gerhard Richter 1998. Anthony d’Offay Gallery, London, January 9, 2010. Gerhard Richter, Peintures / Schilderijen 1962–1975. September 11–October 22, 1998. Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, January 27– Gerhard Richter. Bilder einer Epoche. Bucerius Kunst February 29, 1976. Gerhard Richter, Landschaften. Sprengel Museum Forum, Hamburg, February 5–May 15, 2011. Hannover, October 4, 1998–January 3, 1999. Gerhard Richter, Atlas der Fotos, Collagen und Skizzen. Gerhard Richter, Panorama. Tate Modern, London, Museum Haus Lange, Krefeld, February 8– Gerhard Richter, Zeichnungen und Aquarelle 1964–1999. October 6, 2011–January 8, 2012; Neue National- March 14, 1976. Kunstmuseum Winterthur, September 4– galerie, Berlin, February 12–May 13, 2012, Musée November 21, 1999; Kupferstich-Kabinett, National d’Art Moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris, Gerhard Richter. Musée Nationale d’Art Moderne, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, January 15– June 6–September 24, 2012. Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, February 1– March 19, 2000; Kaiser-Wilhelm-Museum, Krefeld, March 21, 1977. Gerhard Richter, Strip Paintings. Marian Goodman April 9–June 18, 2000; De Pont Fondation for Con- Gallery, New York, September 12–October 13, 2012. Gerhard Richter, 128 Photographs of a Painting. temporary Art. Tilburg, July 1–October 8, 2000. Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Halifax, Gerhard Richter, Dessins et Aquarelles / Drawings & Gerhard Richter, Übersicht. Institut für Auslands August 21–September 9, 1978. Watercolors 1957, 2008. Musée du Louvre, beziehungen e.V. Stuttgart, September 22– Paris 2012. Gerhard Richter, Abstract Paintings. Stedelijk van November 5, 2000 (subsequently shown in nearly Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, October 8–November 5, 40 venues worldwide). Gerhard Richter, Tapestries. Gagosian Gallery London, 1978, and Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, May 30–July 27, 2013. Gerhard Richter: Paintings 1996–2001. Marian Goodman March 14–April 22, 1979. Gallery, New York, September 14–October 27, Gerhard Richter: Streifen & Glas. Staatliche Kunstsamm Gerhard Richter, Zwei gelbe Striche. 2001. lungen Dresden, Galerie Neue Meister, Albertinum, Museum Folkwang Essen, June 8–August 3, and September 14, 2013–January 5, 2014; Kunstmuseum Gerhard Richter, Forty Years of Painting. The Museum of Stedelijk van Abbemuseum Eindhoven, Winterthur, January 18–April 21, 2014. Modern Art, New York, February 14–May 21, 2002; September 12–October 5, 1980. The Art Institute of Chicago, June 22–September Polke/Richter. Richter/Polke. Galerie h, Hannover Baselitz—Richter. Städtische Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, 15, 2002; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 1.–26. März 1966: Katalog. Entwürfe, Fotografien, May 30–July 5, 1981. October 11, 2002–January 14, 2003; Hirshhorn Dokumente, exhib. cat. polke/richter. Dokumentation einer Ausstellung, Dresden, Albertinum, April 8– Gerhard Richter, Abstrakte Bilder 1976–1981. Kunsthalle Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C., June 1, 2014 (Schriften des Gerhard Richter Bielefeld, January 10–February 21, 1982. February 27–May 18, 2003. Archiv Dresden, vol. 12). Gerhard Richter. Musée d’Art et d’Industrie, Gerhard Richter, Acht Grau. Deutsche Guggenheim, Gerhard Richter, Bilder / Serien. Fondation Beyerler, Saint-Étienne, January 12–February 29, 1984. Berlin, October 11, 2002–January 5, 2003. Riehen/Basel, May 18–September 7, 2014. Gerhard Richter, Bilder 1962–1985. Städtische Kunsthalle Gerhard Richter, Billede efter billede / Image after image. Glass, Strips, Glass. New Works by Gerhard Richter Düsseldorf, January 18–March 23, 1986; Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, 2010–2013. Marian Goodman Gallery, London, Neue Nationalgalerie Berlin, April 25–June 1; February 4–May 29, 2005. October 14–December 20, 2014. Kunsthalle Bern, June 14–July 20; Gerhard Richter, Ohne Farbe / Without Color. Museum Museum des 20. Jahrhunderts, Vienna, Franz Gersch, Burgdorf, February 5–May 8, 2005. Gerhard Richter, Atlas Mikromega, Städtische Galerie im August 1–September 21, 1986. Lenbachhaus und Kunstbau, Munich, October 23, Gerhard Richter. K20 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein- 2013–February 9, 2014. Gerhard Richter, Werken op papier 1983–1986. Westfalen, Düsseldorf, February 12–May 16, 2005; Museum Overholland, Amsterdam, Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus und Kunstbau, Gerhard Richter, Colour Charts. Galerie Dominique Lévy, February 20–April 20, 1987. Munich, June 4–August 21, 2005. London, October 13, 2015–January 16, 2016. Gerhard Richter, Paintings. Art Gallery of Ontario, Gerhard Richter, Painting as Mirror. 21st Century Gerhard Richter, “Birkenau,” Museum Frieder Burda, Toronto, April 29–July 10, 1988; Museum of Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Baden-Baden, February 6–May 29, 2016. Contemporary Art, Chicago, September 17– September 3–October 26, 2005; Kawamura Gerhard Richter, Bilder und Zeichnungen, Marian November 27; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Memorial Museum of Art, Kawamura, Goodman Gallery, New York, Garden, Washington D.C., December 14, 1988– November 3, 2005–January 22, 2006. May 7–June 25, 2016. February 12, 1989; San Francisco Museum of Gerhard Richter, Paintings 2001–2005. Marian Goodman Gerhard Richter, Neue Bilder. Museum Ludwig, Modern Art, San Francisco, March 15–May 28, 1989. Gallery, New York, November 17, 2005–January 14, Cologne, February 9–May 1, 2017; Staatliche Kunst Gerhard Richter, Goslarer Kaiserringträger 1988. 2006. sammlungen Dresden, Galerie Neue Meister, Bilder aus zwei Jahrzehnten. Mönchehaus Museum Gerhard Richter, Portraits. Museumsberg, Flensburg, Albertinum, May 20–August 27, 2017. für Moderne Kunst, Goslar, September 24– May 7–July 9, 2006. December 11, 1988. Gerhard Richter, Abstract Paintings, Galerie Marian essays and reviews Gerhard Richter. “18. Oktober 1977.” Museum Haus Goodman, Paris, January 26–March 1, 2008. Esters, Krefeld, February 12–April 18, 1989; Klaus Honnef, “Schwierigkeiten beim Beschreiben der Portikus Frankfurt, April 29–June 11, 1989. Gerhard Richter, 4900 Colours: Version II. Serpentine Realität. Richters Malerei zwischen Kunst und Gallery, London, September 23–November 16, Wirklichkeit,” in: Gerhard Richter. Gegenverkehr, Gerhard Richter, Atlas der Fotos, Collagen und Skizzen. 2008. Zentrum für aktuelle Kunst, Aachen 1969, n.p. Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Munich, Gerhard Richter, Bilder aus privaten Sammlungen. Museum Gerhard Richter, 36th Venice Biennale (German August 2–October 22, 1989; Museum Ludwig, Pavilion), 1972, pp.13 ff. Cologne, February 14–April 16, 1990. Frieder Burda, Baden-Baden, January 10–April 27,. 2008; National Gallery Complex, Edinburgh, Rolf-Gunter Dienst, “Gerhard Richter,” in: Noch Kunst, Gerhard Richter. Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, November 1, 2008–January 4, 2009; Albertina, Gütersloh 1970, pp.190–91. Rotterdam, October 15–December 3, 1989. Vienna, January 24–May 3, 2009; MKM Museum Dietrich Helms, “Über Gerhard Richter,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter. Tate Gallery, London, Küppersmühle für Moderne Kunst, Duisburg, Gerhard Richter, Arbeiten 1962 bis 1971. Kunstverein October 30, 1991–January 12, 1992. May 16–August 16, 2009. für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf 1971, Gerhard Richter, “Sils.” Nietzsche-Haus, Sils-Maria, Gerhard Richter, Übermalte Fotografien. Museum Mors- n.p. Reprinted in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter,36th July 1992–March 1993. broich, Leverkusen, October 17, 2008–January 18, Venice Biennale (German Pavilion), 1972, pp.7 ff.

472 selected bibliography

Dieter Honisch, “Zu den Arbeiten Gerhard Richters,” Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Richter’s Facture: Between Richter 1988/89, Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, 36th Venice Biennale the Synecdoche and the Spectacle,” in: exhib. cat. Rotterdam 1989, pp.14–31. (German Pavilion), 1972, pp.3 ff. Gerhard Richter, Marian Goodman Gallery/Sperone Armin Zweite, “Gerhard Richters ‘Atlas der Fotos, Heiner Stachelhaus, “Doubts in the Face of Reality. Westwater Gallery, New York 1985, n.p. German Collagen und Skizzen,’” in: Gerhard Richter, Atlas, The paintings of Gerhard Richter,” in: Studio edition reprinted in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Munich 1989, pp.7–20. Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik International, September 1972, pp.76 ff. Hubertus Butin, Zu Richters Oktober-Bildern, Cologne Deutschland, Bonn 1993, vol. 2, pp.58–65. Jean-Christophe Ammann, “Zu Gerhard Richter,” 1991 (Schriften zur Sammlung des Museums für in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Städtische Galerie Wilfried W. Dickhoff, “Gerhard Richter, ‘Malen ist eine Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt). moralische Handlung,’” in: Wolkenkratzer Art Journal, im Lenbachhaus, Munich 1973, pp.25 ff. Richard Cork, “Through a Glass, Darkly: Reflections April–June 1985, pp.34–41. Klaus Honnef, “Problem Realismus. Die Medien on Gerhard Richter,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, des Gerhard Richter,” in: Kunstforum International, Dieter Honisch, “Gerhard Richter,” in: exhib. cat. Mirrors, Anthony d’Offay Gallery, London 1991, No. 4/5, 1973, pp.68–91. 1945–1985. Kunst in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, pp.7–20. Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin 1985, pp.248–252. Johannes Cladders, “‘Grau ist doch eine Farbe, und Stefan Germer, “Retrospektive Ahead,” in: exhib. Ulrich Loock, “Das Ereignis des Bildes,” in: Ulrich Loock manchmal ist sie mir die wichtigste’,” in: exhib. cat. cat. Gerhard Richter, Tate Gallery, London 1991, and Denys Zacharopoulos, Gerhard Richter, Munich Gerhard Richter, Städtisches Museum Abteiberg, pp.22–32. Reprinted in German: “Rückblick nah 1985, pp.81–125. Mönchengladbach 1974, n.p. vorn,” in: Germeriana, Jahresring 46, Jahrbuch für Peter-Klaus Schuster, “Gerhard Richter,” in: Deutsche moderne Kunst, Cologne 1999, pp.86–101. Marlies Grüterich, “Gerhard Richters Phänomenologie Kunst seit 1960, Sammlung Prinz Franz von Bayern, der Illusion—eine gemalte Ästhetik gegen die reine Katharina Hegewisch, “Dem Leben eine Bühne Staatsgalerie moderner Kunst, Munich 1985, Malerei,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Bilder aus den bauen,” in: Oswald Matthias Ungers, Gerhard Richter, pp.186–7. Jahren 1962–1974, Kunsthalle Bremen, Bremen 1975, Sol LeWitt, Hypo-Bank Düsseldorf 1991, pp.7–13. pp.16–100. Denys Zacharopoulos, “Die Figur des Werks,” Sean Rainbird, “Variations of a Theme: The Painting in: Ulrich Loock and Denys Zacharopoulos, Manfred Schneckenburger, “Gerhard Richter oder ein of Gerhard Richter,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Gerhard Richter, Munich 1985, pp.7–80. Weg, weiterzumalen,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Tate Gallery, London 1991, pp.11–21. Bilder aus den Jahren 1962–1974, Kunsthalle Bremen, Stephen Ellis, “The Elusive Gerhard Richter,” Hans Strelow, ”Leben mit Pop—eine Demonstration Bremen 1975, pp.10–5. in: Art in America, No. 1986, pp.130–39, 186. für den ‘kapitalistischen Realismus’ von Konrad Rolf Wedewer, “Zum Landschaftstypus Gerhard Walter Grasskamp, Gerhard Richter. Verkündigung Lueg und Gerhard Richter,” in: Die Kunst der Richters,” in: Pantheon, No. 33, Jan.–March 1975, nach Tizian. Künstlerporträts für Fortgeschrittene, Ausstellung, eds. Bernd Klüser and Katharina pp.41–49. Munich 1986, pp.44–61. Hegewisch, Frankfurt, and Leipzig 1991, pp.166–71. Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Der Polke-Richter-Effekt Jürgen Harten, “Der romantische Wille zur Doris von Drathen, “Gerhard Richter. Les Pouvoirs oder Tabula Rasa (das aufgelöste Bild),” in: exhib. Abstraktion,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter. de L’Abstraction,” in: Les Cahiers du Musée National cat. Sigmar Polke, Bilder, Tücher, Objekte. Werkauswahl Bilder/Paintings 1962–1985, Städtische Kunsthalle, d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, No. 40, 1962–1971, Kunsthalle Tübingen, Tübingen 1976, Düsseldorf 1986, pp.9–62. Sommer 1992, pp.67–85. Reprinted with the title “An die Macht der Bilder glauben,” in: Kunstforum pp.137 ff. Anja Thomas-Netik, Gerhard Richter. Mögliche Aspekte International, No. 131, 1995, pp.247–64. Klaus Honnef, Gerhard Richter, Recklinghausen 1976 eines postmodernen Bewusstseins, Essen 1986 (Monographien zur rheinisch-westfälischen Kunst (Kunst—Geschichte und Theorie, ed. Kunibert Gertrud Koch, “The Richter-Scale of Blur,” in: October, der Gegenwart, No. 50). Bering, vol. 7). 62, Fall 1992, pp.133–142. Gerhard Storck, “Beschäftigung mit Gerhard Richters Kerry Brougher, “The Image of Abstraction,” in: Susanne Küper, “Konrad Lueg und Gerhard Richter: Sammelwerk ‘Atlas der Fotos, Collagen und exhib. cat. The Image of Abstraction, Museum of ‘Leben mit Pop—‚Eine Demonstration für den Skizzen,’” in exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Atlas der Contemporary Art, Los Angeles 1988, pp.9–34. kapitalistischen Realismus.’” in: Wallraf Richartz Jahrbuch, vol. 53, 1992, pp.289–306. Fotos, Collagen und Skizzen, Museum Haus Lange, I. Michael Danoff, “Heterogeneity. An Introduction Krefeld 1976, n.p. to the Work of Gerhard Richter,” in: exhib. cat. Ingrid Misterek-Plagge, “Kunst mit Fotografie” und die Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Ready-made, photographie Gerhard Richter, Paintings, Art Gallery of Ontario, frühen Fotogemälde Gerhard Richters, Münster/ Hamburg 1992. et peinture dans la peinture de Gerhard Richter,” Toronto 1988 pp.9 ff. in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Musée Nationale Dieter Honisch, Gerhard Richter. Laudatio zur Peter Osborne, “Painting Negation. Gerhard Richter’s d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Verleihung des Kaiserrings in der Kaiserpfalz Goslar Negatives,” in: Art & Design, No. 3/4, 1992, pp.32– Paris 1977, pp.11–58. am 24. September 1988. Edition Mönchehaus- 43. Reprinted in: October, 62, Fall 1992, pp.102–13. Axel Hinrich Murken, “Auf der Suche nach der Museum, Verein zur Förderung moderner Kunst, Desa Philippi, “Moments of Interpretation,” in: October, Wirklichkeit. Das Menschenbild im künstlerischen Goslar 1988. 62, Fall 1992, pp.114–22. Werk von Gerhard Richter,” in: Die Kunst und das Roald Nasgaard, “Gerhard Richter,” in: exhib. cat. Jean-Philippe Antoine, “Ne pas voir la peinture en schöne Heim, No. 89, 1977, pp.29 ff. Gerhard Richter, Paintings, Art Gallery of Ontario, Peinture. Les images de Gerhard Richter,” in: exhib. Zdenek Felix, “Zwei gelbe Striche,” in: exhib. cat. Toronto 1988, pp.31–111. cat. Peinture. Emblèmes et Références, CAPC, Musée Gerhard Richter, Zwei gelbe Striche, Museum Anne Rorimer, “Illusion und Wirklichkeit in der d’Art Contemporain, Bordeaux 1993, pp.165–74. Folkwang, Essen 1980, pp.3 ff. Malerei,” in: exhib. cat. Abstrakte Malerei aus Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Die Malerei am Ende des Wolfgang Max Faust and Gerd de Vries, “Gerhard Amerika und Europa, Galerie nächst St. Stephan, Sujets,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Kunst- und Richter,” in: Hunger nach Bildern, Cologne 1982, Vienna 1988, pp.85 ff. Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, pp.42–8. Ulrich Wilmes, “Über Gerhard Richter. Der Schein der vol. 2, Bonn 1993, pp.7–78. Heribert Heere, “Gerhard Richter—Die abstrakten Wirklichkeit im Bild,” in: Künstler. Kritisches Lexikon Jean-Pierre Criqui, “Drei Impromptus über die Kunst Bilder. Zur Frage des Inhalts,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard der Gegenwartskunst, Munich 1988, pp.3–11. Gerhard Richters,” in: Parkett, No. 35, 1993, pp.32–6. Richter, Abstrakte Bilder 1976 bis 1981, Kunsthalle Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Gerhard Richter, 18. October Peter Gidal, “Endlose Endlichkeit,” in: Parkett, No. 35, Bielefeld 1982, pp.9–20. 1977.” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, 18. Oktober 1977, 1993, pp.49–54. Museum Haus Ester, Krefeld 1988, pp.55–9. Bernard Blistène, “Gerhard Richter, Réflexion sur Dave Hickey, “Richter in Tahiti,” in: Parkett, No. 35, l’échec de la peinture,” in: art press, Febr. 1983, Revised reprint in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, 1993, pp.88–95. pp.23 ff., 59. Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn 1993, vol. 2, pp.46 ff. Luc Lang, “La main du photographe (Gerhard Dierk Stemmler, “Universale Malerei des Unerklär Richter),” in: exhib. cat. Peinture. Emblèmes et lichen wegen. Gerhard Richter,” in: Sammlung Stefan Germer, “Ungebetene Erinnerung,” in: exhib. Références, CAPC, Musée d’Art Contemporain, deutscher Kunst seit 1945, Städtisches Kunstmuseum, cat. Gerhard Richter, 18. Oktober 1977, Museum Haus Bordeaux 1993, pp.187–92. Ester, Krefeld 1989, pp.51–3. Bonn, vol. 2, 1983, pp.639 ff. Hubertus Butin, “Gerhard Richter—ein deutscher Bernard Blistène, “Gerhard Richter ou l’exercice de Presseberichte zu Gerhard Richter “18. Oktober 1977,” Romantiker?,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter und die soupçon,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Musée Museum für Moderne Kunst und Portikus, ed. Romantik, Kunstverein Ruhr, Essen 1994, pp.7–28. Ulrich Wilmes, Frankfurt, Cologne 1989. d’Art et d’Industrie, Saint-Étienne 1984, pp.5–8. Jean-François Chevrier, “Zwischen der bildenden Kunst Jürgen Harten, “Gerhard Richter,” in: exhib. cat. von Walter Grasskamp, “18. Oktober 1977,” in: und den Medien. Das deutsche Beispiel,” in: exhib. hier aus. 2 Monate neue deutsche Kunst in Düsseldorf, Jahresring 36, 1989, pp.220–29. cat. Photographie in der deutschen Gegenwartskunst, Cologne 1984, pp.292 ff. Anna Tilroe, “Gerhard Richter,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Öffentliche Kunstsammlung Basel 1994, pp.26–64.

473 selected bibliography

Peter Friese, “Von der Kunst des Zuspätkommens,” in: Stefan Germer, “Familienanschluss. Zur Themati— cendence: A Random Dictionary for / on Gerhard exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter und die Romantik, Kunst sierung des Privaten in neueren Bildern Gerhard Richter,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Paintings verein Ruhr, Essen 1994, pp.31–44. Richters,” in: Texte zur Kunst, year 7, No. 26, 1996–2001, Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, Max Kozloff, “Gerhard Richter, He Who Misleads,” June 1997, pp.108–16. 2001, pp.7–21. in: Art in America, Sept. 1994, pp.98 ff. Kai-Uwe Hemken, “Leiden an Deutschland—Gerhard Klaus Gallwitz, “Leben im Museum. Günther Uecker Werner Spies, Laudatio auf Gerhard Richter, in: Richters Elegie der Moderne. Geschichtsphilosophie und Gerhard Richter in der Kunsthalle Baden- Jahreshefte der Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, No. 4 im Zyklus ‘18. Oktober 1977,’” in: exhib. cat. Baden,” in: exhib. cat. . . . zum Raum wird hier die Zeit. (1992–1994), Düsseldorf 1994, pp.79–86. Deutschlandbilder. Kunst aus einem geteilten Land, Günther Uecker, Bühnenskulpturen und optische Parti- Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin 1997, pp.413–20. turen, Neues Museum Weimar, 2001, pp.36–43. Jürgen Stöhr, “Ein Unverständnis in Bochum 1982? Das Kunstschaffen von Yves Klein und Gerhard Richter Susanne Küper, “Gerhard Richter, der kapitalistische Minoru Shimizu, “Gerhard Richter—Öl auf als Hinweis auf neuere Perspektiven einer Theorie Realismus und seine Malerei nach Fotografien von Photographie, ein Grundmodell,” in: exhib. cat. der ästhetischen Erfahrung,” in: Zeitschrift für 1962–1966,” in: exhib. cat. Deutschlandbilder, Berlin Gerhard Richter, New Oil on Photographs, Wako Ästhetik und allgemeine Kunstwissenschaft, No. 1, 1994, 1997, pp.265–8. Works of Art, Tokyo 2001, pp.39–59. pp.91–129. Peter Schjeldahl, “Der Tod und der Maler Gerhard Jean-Philippe Antoine, “Du noir et blanc au gris. Paul Wood, “Truth and Beauty: The Ruined Abstrac- Richter,” in: ders., Poesie der Teilnahme. Kritiken La peinture dégrisée de Gerhard Richter,” in: tion of Gerhard Richter,” in: John Roberts (ed.), 1980–1994. Dresden 1997, pp.112–32. Six rhapsodies froides sur le lieu, l’image et le souvenir, Paris 2002, pp.199–247. Art Has No History! The Making and Unmaking of Ulf Erdmann Ziegler, “Wie die Seele den Leib verlässt. Modern Art, London, New York 1994, pp.180–99. Gerhard Richters Zyklus ‘18. Oktober 1977,’” Benjamin H. D. Buchloh,”Gerhard Richters ‘Acht Grau’: Jean-Philippe Antoine, “Photography, Painting and the in: exhib. cat. Deutschlandbilder, Berlin 1997, zwischen Vorschein und Glanz,” in: exhib. cat. Real. The Question of Landscape in the Painting pp.406–12. Gerhard Richter, Acht Grau, Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin 2002, pp.13–29. of Gerhard Richter,” in: Jean-Philippe Antoine, Oskar Bätschmann, “Landschaften in Unschärfe,” in: Gertrud Koch, and Luc Lang, Gerhard Richter, Paris exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Landschaften, Sprengel Dietmar Elger, Gerhard Richter, Maler, Cologne 2002 1995, pp.53–89. Museum, Hannover 1998, pp.24–38. (2nd expanded and revised ed. Cologne 2008). Peter Gidal, “The Polemics of Paint,” in: exhib. cat. Angelika Beck, “Die Mutter-Kind-Fotos in Gerhard Stefan Gronert, “Die Bildlichkeit des Abbildes. Die Gerhard Richter, Painting in the Nineties, Anthony Richters ‘Atlas’ und die acht Bilder ‘S. mit Kind,’” in: mediale Reflexion der Fotografie bei Gerhard d’Offay Gallery, London 1995, pp.17–34. eds. Bernhard Balkenhol and Heiner Georgsdorf, Richter und Jeff Wall,” in: Zeitschrift für Ästhetik Gertrud Koch, “The Open Secret. Gerhard Richter X mal documenta X, Kassel 1998, pp.142–7. und allgemeine Kunstwissenschaft, No. 47/1, 2002, pp.37–72. and the Surface of Modernity,” in: Jean-Philippe Dietmar Elger, “Landschaft als Modell,” in: exhib. cat. Antoine, Gertrud Koch and Luc Lang, Gerhard Gerhard Richter, Landschaften, Sprengel Museum, Robert Storr, “Gerhard Richter. Forty Years of Richter, Paris 1995, pp.9–27. Hannover 1998, pp.8–23. Painting,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Forty Years of Painting. The Museum of Modern Art, New York Klaus Krüger, “Der Blick ins Innere des Bildes. Kai-Uwe Hemken, Gerhard Richter. 18. Oktober 1977, 2002, pp.11–94. Ästhetische Illusion bei Gerhard Richter,” in: Frankfurt/Leipzig 1998. Pantheon, vol. 53. 1995, pp.149–66. Wolfgang Ullrich, Die Geschichte der Unschärfe, Berlin Gerhard Richter, 18. Oktober 1977, Martin Henatsch, 2002. Johannes Meinhardt, “Gerhard Richter. Unmögliche Frankfurt 1998. Malerei,” in: Kunstforum international, No. 131, Gerhard Richter, Atlas. The Reader. Essays by Benjamin August/October 1995, pp.236–46. Martin Hentschel, “Auf wechselndem Terrain. H. D. Buchloh, Jean-Francois Chevrier, Lynne Richters abstrakte Bilder anschauen,” in: Noëma, Cooke, Helmut Friedel, Armin Zweite, Günter Metken, “Uns trägt kein Volk,” in: exhib. cat. Jan–March 1998, pp.39–51. Ernste Spiele. Der Geist der Romantik in der deutschen Whitechapel Gallery 2003–4, London 2003. Kunst 1790–1990, Haus der Kunst, Munich 1995, Guy Tossato, Gerhard Richter. “Le sentiment d’avoir Hal Foster, “Semblance According to Richter,” in: pp.446–53. approché quelque chose de la réalité des Raritan, Winter 2003, pp.159–77. apparences,” in: Ninety, No. 29, 1998, pp.10–40. Birgit Pelzer, “The Elision of the Gaze,” in: exhib. cat. Astrid Kasper, Gerhard Richter. Malerei als Thema der Gerhard Richter, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem 1995, Stefan Germer, “Die Wiederkehr des Verdrängten. Malerei, Berlin 2003. Zum Ungang mit deutscher Geschichte bei Baselitz, pp.7–18. Robert Storr, Gerhard Richter. Doubt and Belief in Paint- Kiefer, Immendorff und Richter,” in: Germeriana, Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Divided Memory and ing. The Museum of Modern Art, New York 2003. Jahresring 46, Jahrbuch für moderne Kunst, Post-Traditional Identity: Gerhard Richter’s Work Cologne 1999, pp.38–55. Hubertus Butin, “Gerhard Richter und die Reflexion of Mourning,” in: October, No. 75, Winter 1996, der Bilder,” in: Gerhard Richter, Editionen 1965–2004, Rainer Metzger, “Flächenbrand. Anmerkungen zu pp.60–82. eds. Hubertus Butin and Stefan Gronert, Gerhard Richters Arbeit an der Evidenz,” in: Hans Dickel, “Die Sehnsucht nach der Natur in den Ostfildern-Ruit 2004, pp.9–93. Noëma, Jan.–March 1999, pp.30–38. Medien der bildenden Kunst: Caspar David Hubertus Butin, “Gerhard Richter und Sigmar Polke – Birgit Pelzer, “‘Linien, die sich dem Blick entziehen,’” Friedrich—Gerhard Richter—Bill Viola,” in: eine Künstlerfreundschaft als mikrosoziales Sys- in: Gerhard Richter, Zeichnungen 1964–1999, Paragrana, No. 1, 1996, pp.153–69. tem,” in: Legitimationen. Künstlerinnen und Künstler als Werkverzeichnis, Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Kai-Uwe Hemken, “Von ‘Engeln der Geschichte’ und Autoritäten der Gegenwartskunst, ed. Julia Gelshorn, Winterthur and Düsseldorf 1999, pp.163–78. ästhetischer Melancholie. Zur Geschichtserfahrung Bern 2004, pp.43–59. Dieter Schwarz, “Zwei Landschaften von Gerhard in der Gegenwartskunst,” in: Gedächtnisbilder. Doris von Drathen, “Gerhard Richter. Beyond the skin Richter,” in: Texte zu Werken im Kunstmuseum Vergessen und Erinnern in der Gegenwartskunst, of an image,” in: Vortex of Silence, Mailand 2004, Winterthur, ed. Dieter Schwarz, Düsseldorf 1999, Leipzig 1996, pp.143–55. pp.243–56. pp.211–43. Birgit Pelzer, “Es gibt kein Da. Gerhard Richter im Julia Gelshorn, “Der Künstler spricht—Vom Dieter Schwarz, “‘Alles sehen—nichts begreifen,’” Carré d’Art in Nîmes,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Umgang mit den Texten Gerhard Richters,” in: in: Gerhard Richter, Zeichnungen 1964–1999, 100 Bilder, Carré d’Art, Musée d’Art Contemporain, Legitimationen, Bern 2004, pp.127–47. Nîmes 1996, pp.133–54. Werkverzeichnis, Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Winterthur and Düsseldorf 1999, pp.7–33. Stefan Gronert, “Bild-(Re)Produktionen. Zum Hubertus Butin, “Gerhard Richter. Die List der Stellenwert der Fotografie im Werk von Gerhard Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, Jean-François Chevrier, Reflexion,” in: exhib. cat. Die Maler und ihre Richter,” in: Gerhard Richter, Editionen 1965–2004, Rainer Rochlitz, Armin Zweite, Photography and Skulpturen. Von Edgar Degas bis Gerhard Richter, Ostfildern-Ruit 2004, pp.85–116. Museum Folkwang, Essen 1997, pp.48–55. Painting in the Work of Gerhard Richter. Four Essays on Atlas, Consorci del Museu d’Art Contemporani Günter Herzog, “Ganz am Anfang,” in: sediment, Susanne Ehrenfried, Ohne Eigenschaft. Das Portrait bei de Barcelona, 2000. No. 7, 2004, pp.9–23. Gerhard Richter, Vienna, New York 1997. Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Readymade, Photography, Brigitte Jacobs, “Dokumentation / Documentation,” Hansdieter Erbsmehl, “Im Schatten Nietzsches. and Painting in the Painting of Gerhard Richter,” in: sediment, No. 7, 2004, pp.61–109. Gerhard Richters ‘Sils’—Ausstellung 1992,” in: in: Neo-Avantgarde and Culture Industry. Essays on Georges-Bloch-Jahrbuch des Kunstgeschichtlichen Fotini Ladaki, “Der Schrecken des Sehens in der European and American Art from 1955 to 1975, Seminars der Universität Zürich, 1997, pp.199–219. Tradition,” in: “Moritz” von Gerhard Richter, Cambridge, Mass., and London 2000, pp.365–403. Athens 2004, pp.23–39. Helmut Friedel, “Der Atlas 1962–1997,” in: Gerhard Richter, Atlas der Fotos, Collagen und Skizzen, Robert Storr, Gerhard Richter. October 18, 1977. Stephan Strsembski, “Kapitalistischer Realismus?,” Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, The Museum of Modern Art, New York 2000. in: sediment, No. 7, 2004, pp.55–9. Munich 1997, pp.5 ff. Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Archaeology to Trans Erik Verhagen, “Bête comme un peintre. Les portraits

474 selected bibliography

de famille de Gerhard Richter,” in: Les Cahiers du Photographer,” in: Photography Theory, New York, und das Bild,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges London 2007, pp.75–89. Übermalte Fotografien, Museum Morsbroich, Pompidou, No. 90, 2004–05, pp.42–60. Stephan Diederich, “Zufall, Plan, Gegebenheit? Das Leverkusen 2008, pp.193–201. Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Richter’s Abstractions: südliche Querhausfenster im Kölner Dom und Gregor Stemmrich, “Gerhard Richter—Abstraktion Silences, Voids, and Evacuations,” in: exhib. cat. 4900 Farben im Museum Ludwig,” in: exhib. cat. als Entgleisung,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Gerhard Richter, Paintings from 2003–2005, Marian Gerhard Richter—Zufall, das Kölner Domfenster und Abstrakte Bilder, Museum Ludwig, Cologne 2008, Goodman Gallery, New York 2005, pp.7–27. 4900 Farben, Museum Ludwig, Cologne 2007, pp.19–33. Michael Diers, “Abstraktion oder Notstab Irak. Über pp.7–10. Ulrich Wilmes, “Gerhard Richter—Ein Moment in der Gerhard Richters Künstlerbuch ‘War Cut,’” in: Dietmar Elger, “Wer war Helga Matura wirklich? Die Zeit. Zur Dokumentation von Zuständen bei der Etwas von etwas. Abstrakte Kunst, ed. Friedrich Bilder und ihre Vorbilder,” in: Sechs Vorträge über Entstehung von abstrakten Bildern,” in: exhib. cat. Meschede, Jahresring, No. 52, Cologne 2005, Gerhard Richter, eds. Dietmar Elger and Jürgen Gerhard Richter, Abstrakte Bilder, Museum Ludwig, pp.68–78. Müller. Cologne 2007 (Schriften des Gerhard Cologne 2008, pp.135–53. Paul B. Jaskot, “Gerhard Richter und Adolf Eichmann,” Richter Archiv Dresden, vol. 1), pp.30–45. Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Das Diagram und das in: Oxford Art Journal, No. 3, 2005, pp.457–78. Helmut Friedel, “Gerhard Richter, Paletten-Bilder,” Farbfeld. Gerhard Richters ‘4900 Farben,’” in: Doris Krystof, “Visuelle Spekulationen. Spiegel und in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Rot, Gelb, Blau. Die Gerhard Richter. Texte zu “4900 Farben,” Ostfildern Glas bei Gerhard Richter,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Gemälde für BMW, Städtische Galerie im Lenbach- 2009 (Schriften des Gerhard Richter Archiv Richter, Ohne Farbe, Museum Franz Gertsch, haus und Kunstbau, Munich 2007, pp.8–25. Dresden, vol. 3, ed. Dietmar Elger), pp.11–25. Burgdorf 2005, pp.78–84. Birgit Pelzer, “Der Zufall als Partner. Gerhard Richters Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Gerhard Richter: Voids and Jürgen Schreiber, Ein Maler aus Deutschland. Gerhard Farbfelder 2007,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Whites: The Last Paintings before the Last,” in: Richter, Das Drama einer Familie, Munich, Zürich Zufall, das Kölner Domfenster und 4900 Farben, exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Abstract Paintings 2009, 2005. Museum Ludwig, Cologne 2007, pp.67–86. Marian Goodman Gallery, New York 2009, pp.89–99. Dieter Schwarz, “The Turn of the Screw—New Works Dietmar Rübel, “Die Fotografie (un)erträglich machen. of Gerhard Richter,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Über Gerhard Richter gesehen mit W. G. Sebald,” Hubertus Butin, “Gerhard Richters Film ‘Volker Bradke’ Paintings from 2003–2005, Marian Goodman Gallery, in: Sechs Vorträge über Gerhard Richter, Cologne 2007 und das Prinzip der Unschärfe,” in: Gerhard Richter, New York 2005, pp.109–15. (Schriften des Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden, Volker Bradke, 1966, Cologne 2009 (Schriften des vol. 1), pp.46–69. Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden, vol. 6), pp.9–39. Didier Semin, “Retour à la peinture,” in: L’art du XXe siècle 1939–2002. De l’art moderne à l’art Barbara Schock-Werner, “Das neue Fenster als Teil der Dietmar Elger, “Porträt Dr. Knobloch. Gerhard Richters contemporain, Paris 2005, pp.415–35. historischen Domverglasung,” in: Gerhard Richter— Malerei als Schein,” in: Patrimonia, No. 344, Berlin Zufall, das Kölner Domfenster und 4900 Farben, 2009, pp.9–27. Reinhart Spieler, “Ohne Farbe,” in: exhib. cat. Museum Ludwig, Cologne 2007, pp.21–31. Gerhard Richter, Ohne Farbe, Museum Franz Gertsch, Julia Friedrich, Grau ohne Grund. Gerhard Richters Burgdorf 2005, pp.8–22. Barbara Schock-Werner, “Das Südquerhausfenster des Monochromien als Herausforderung der künstlerischen Kölner Domes—Zur Genese eines Entwurfs,” in: Avantgarde, Cologne 2009. Armin Zweite, “Sehen, Reflektieren, Erscheinen. Kölner Domblatt, Jahrbuch des Zentral-Dombau- Anmerkungen zum Werk von Gerhard Richter,” Rosemary Hawker, “Idiom Post-medium: Richter Vereins, Cologne 2007, pp.349–78. in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, K 20 Kunstsammlung Painting Photography,” in: Oxford Art Journal, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf 2005, pp.12–100. Dieter Schwarz, “Gerhard Richter: War Cut. Ein No. 2, 2009, pp.263–80. English edition: “Seeing Reflecting Appearing. abstraktes Bild als Buch,” in: Sechs Vorträge über Christine Mehring, “Glühbirnen und Monochrome: Thoughts on the Work of Gerhard Richter,” Gerhard Richter, Cologne 2007 (Schriften des Die Wahlverwandtschaften von Richter und Düsseldorf 2005, pp.14–99. Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden), pp.96–111. Palermo,” in: Blinky Palermo, To the People of Hubertus Butin, “Unbekannte Fotoarbeiten von Armin Zweite, “Die Silikat-Bilder von Gerhard Richter New York City, Düsseldorf, New York 2009, Gerhard Richter,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, und andere Mikrostrukturen,” in: Patrimonia 322, pp.45–78. Portraits, Museumsberg, Flensburg 2006, Berlin 2007, pp.6–63. Christine Mehring, “Die Kunst eines Wunders. Eine pp.208–27. Götz Adriani, “Von der Lust, etwas Schönes zu malen,” Geschichte des deutschen Pop, 1955–1972,” in: Hans Dickel, “Gerhard Richter: Zur Kritik der ‘Land- in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Bilder aus privaten exhib. cat. Kunst und Kalter Krieg. Deutsche Positionen schaft’ als Modus der Wahrnehmung von Natur,” Sammlungen, Museum Frieder Burda, Baden-Baden 1945–1989, eds. Stephanie Barron and Sabine in: Kunst als zweite Natur. Studien zum Naturverständ- 2008, pp.9–35. Eckmann, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, nis in der modernen Kunst, Berlin 2006, pp.208–26. Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “The Diagram and the Color Nürnberg; Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin 2009–10, pp.153–69. Bruno Eble, Gerhard Richter. La surface du regard, Chip: Gerhard Richter’s 4900 Colours,” in: Gerhard Paris 2006. Richter, 4900 Colours: Version II, Serpentine Gallery, Johannes Meinhardt, “Illusionism in Painting and the London 2008, pp.61–71. Punctum of Photography,” in: October Files, No. 8, Julia Gelshorn, “Bildtopologien bei Gerhard Richter ed. Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, 2009, pp.135–51. und Sigmar Polke,” in: Kritische Berichte, No. 2, 2006, Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Geste, Faktur, Index: pp.49–62. Abstraktion in der Malerei,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Paul Moorhouse, “Gerhard Richter Portraits. Painting Richter, Abstrakte Bilder, Museum Ludwig, Cologne Appearances,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richters Stefan Gronert, “Gerhard Richter. Das Portrait des 2008, pp.8–17. Portraits: Painting Appearances, National Portrait Abbilds,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Portraits, Gallery, London 2009, pp.11–123. Museumsberg, Flensburg 2006, pp.40–111. Hubertus Butin, “Konstruierte Sichtbarkeit—Gerhard Richters ‘Erster Blick’ im Kontext nanotechno Birgit Pelzer “Die Asymptote des Zufalls. ‘4900’ von Detlef Hoffmann, “Die Schärfe der Unschärfe – logischer Visualisierungen,” in: frame # 2, 2008, Gerhard Richter—’Version I’—in der Serpentine Gallery Zum Beispiel: ‘Onkel Rudi’ von Gerhard Richter,” pp.112–21. in London.” Ostfildern 2009 (Schriften des Gerhard in: Geschichte und bildende Kunst. Tel Aviver Jahrbuch Richter Archiv Dresden, vol. 3, ed. Dietmar Elger), für deutsche Geschichte, vol. 34, Göttingen 2006, Uwe Fleckner, “Die Demokratie der ästhetischen pp.71–84. pp.254–68. Erfahrung. Gerhard Richters Wandbild Schwarz Rot Gold im Berliner Reichstagsgebäude,” in: Inge Marcus du Sautoy, “Malen nach Zahlen. Gerhard Jeanne Anne Nugent, “Overcoming Ideology: Gerhard Stephan and Alexandra Tacke, NachBilder der Wende, Richters ‘4900 Farben,’” in: Gerhard Richter, Texte Richter in Dresden, the Early Years,” in: exhib. cat. Cologne, Weimar, Vienna 2008, pp.283–300. zu “4900 Farben,” Ostfildern 2009 (Schriften des From Caspar David Friedrich to Gerhard Richter. Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden, vol. 3, ed. German Paintings from Dresden, The J. Paul Getty Markus Heinzelmann, “Verwischungen. Die über- Dietmar Elger), pp.87–93. Museum, Los Angeles 2006, pp.79–94. malten Fotografien von Gerhard Richter als Objekte der Betrachtung,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Kaja Silverman, “Photography by Other Means,” Jeanne Anne Nugent, “Gerhard Richter’s ‘Woodlands’ Richter, Übermalte Fotografien, Museum Morsbroich, in: Flesh of My Flesh, Stanford 2009, pp.168–221. and Other Things of the Past,” in: exhib. cat. From Leverkusen 2008, pp.80–88. Caspar David Friedrich to Gerhard Richter, The J. Paul Robert Storr, Gerhard Richter. The Cage Paintings, Getty Museum, Los Angeles 2006, pp.95–9. Friedhelm Mennekes, “Lichtblicke in Köln. Gerhard London 2009. Hubertus Butin, “Gerhard Richters Kölner Dom Richters Domfenster und das Kunstmuseum Robert Storr, September. A History Painting by Gerhard fenster,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter—Zufall, das Kolumba,” in: Stimmen der Zeit, Jan. 2008, pp.48–64. Richter, London 2009. Kölner Domfenster und 4900 Farben, Museum Birgit Pelzer, “The Asymptote of Chance,” in: exhib. Ulrich Wilmes, “Abstrakte Bilder müssen eine Richtig Ludwig, Cologne 2007, pp.47–53. cat. Gerhard Richter. 4900 Colours: Version II, keit haben. Gerhard Richter im Gespräch mit Ulrich Diarmuid Costello, “After Medium. Specificity chez Serpentine Gallery, London 2008, pp.117–31. Wilmes,” in: Ulrich Wilmes, Gerhard Richter: Zur Fried. Jeff Wall as a Painter; Gerhard Richter as a Uwe M. Schneede, “Die Realität, das Foto, die Farbe Entstehung der abstrakten Bilder. Cologne 2009

475 selected bibliography

(Schriften des Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden, Erik Verhagen, “Gerhard Richters Familienbilder: Dieter Schwarz, “Glas Streifen Glas. Neue Werke vol. 5), pp.45–57. Eine Ausnahme im Medienfeld,” in: Gerhard Richter. von Gerhard Richter 2010–2013,” in: exhib. cat. Ulrich Wilmes, Gerhard Richter. Abstrakte Bilder (book Fotografie und Malerei—Malerei als Fotografie. Gerhard Richter, Streifen und Glas, Staatliche and audio CD), Haus der Kunst, Munich 2009. Acht Texte zu Gerhard Richters Medienstrategie, eds. Kunstsammlungen Dresden and Kunstmuseum Dietmar Elger and Kerstin Küster, Cologne 2011 Winterthur, Cologne 2013. pp.29–47. John J. Curley, “Gerhard Richter’s Cold War Vision,” (Schriften des Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden, in: eds. Christine Mehring, Jeanne Anne Nugent, Robert Storr, “Malerei mit anderen Mitteln. vol. 8), pp.9–37. and Jon L. Seydl, Gerhard Richter. Early Work 1951– Anmerkungen zu Gerhard Richters neuen 1972, Los Angeles 2010, pp.11–35. Ortrud Westheider, “Eine Idee, die bis zum Tod geht. abstrakten Bildern,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Der Zyklus ‘18. Oktober 1977,’” in: exhib. cat. Streifen und Glas, Cologne 2013, pp.53–60. Gavin Delahunty, “Lines which do not exist,” in: Gerhard Richter, Bilder einer Epoche, Bucerius Kunst exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, ‘Lines which do not exist,’ Erik Verhagen, “Rendre l’inexplicable accessible: Forum, Hamburg 2011, pp.154–75. The Drawing Center, New York 2010, pp.14–23. Les ‘Annonciations d’après Titien’ de Gerhard Achim Borchardt-Hume, “‘Dreh die nicht um’: Richters Richter,” in: Studiolo, No. 10, 2013, pp.166–75; Eckhart J. Gillen, “Painter without Qualities: Gerhard Bilder aus den spätern 1980er-Jahren,” in: exhib. pp.323–4. Richter’s Path from Socialist Society to Western cat. Gerhard Richter, Panorama, Nationalgalerie, Art System, 1956–1966,” in: eds. Christine Mehring, Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Gerhard Richter’s Glass. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Munich 2012, Jeanne Anne Nugent, and Jon L. Seydl, Gerhard Painting’s Double,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, pp.163–75. Richter. Early Work 1951–1972, Los Angeles 2010, Marian Goodman Gallery, London 2014, pp.85–92. Dorothée Brill, “Da hört es auf,” in: exhib. cat. pp.63–89. Hubertus Butin, “‘Es konnte mir ja nicht darum gehen, Gerhard Richter, Panorama, Nationalgalerie, Stefan Gronert, “Art History as Art,” in: eds. Christine ein schönes Bild zu malen’: Gerhard Richters Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Munich 2012, Mehring, Jeanne Anne Nugent, and Jon L. Seydl, Gemälde zum 11. September,” in: Rendezvous mit pp.243–52. Gerhard Richter. Early Work 1951–1972, Los Angeles dem Realen: die Spur des Traumas in den Künsten, 2010, pp.125–44. Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Gerhard Richter: Glass eds. Aleida Assmann, Karolina Jeftik, and Friederike Insurrection,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Strip Wappler, Bielefeld 2014, pp.25–33. Christine Mehring, “Richter’s Collaborations, Richter’s Paintings, Marian Goodman Gallery, New York Turns, 1955–1971,” in: eds. Christine Mehring, Aline Guillermet, “Memory, Forgetting and the 2012, pp.4–9. Jeanne Anne Nugent, and Jon L. Seydl, Gerhard Representation of History in Gerhard Richter’s Richter. Early Work 1951–1972, Los Angeles 2010, Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “The Chance Ornament: ‘18 October 1977,’” Own Reality (7), 2014, online, pp.90–124. Painting Progress Painting Loss,” in: exhib. cat. www.perspectivia.net/content/publikationen/ Gerhard Richter, Strip Paintings, Marian Goodman ownreality/7/guillermet-en Jeanne Anne Nugent, “From Hans Sedlmayr to Gallery, New York 2012, pp.11–6. Mars and Back Again: New Problems in the Old Zuzanna Ilnicka, “Gerhard Richter’s failing memory: History of Gerhard Richter’s Radical Reworking of Julia Gelshorn, Aneignung und Wiederholung. Bilddiskurse ‘The October 18, 1977’ and the need to allow Modern Art,” in: eds. Christine Mehring, Jeanne im Werk von Gerhard Richter und Sigmar Polke, doubt,” in: Politics of erasure. From ‘Damnatio Anne Nugent, and Jon L. Seydl, Gerhard Richter. Munich 2012. memoriae’ to alluring void. Warsaw: Polish Institute Early Work 1951–1972, Los Angeles 2010, Mark Godfrey, “Beschädigte Landschaften,” in: exhib. of World Art Studies, Conference and Studies, pp.36–62. cat. Gerhard Richter, Panorama, Nationalgalerie, vol. 13, ed. Anna Markowska, Warsaw 2014, Hubertus Butin, “Romantische Landschaften als Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Munich 2012, pp.221–24. ‘Kuckuckseier,’” in: Gerhard Richter, Landschaften, pp.73–89. Luke Smythe, “Freedom and Exile in Gerhard Richter’s ed. Dietmar Elger, Ostfildern 2011, pp.121–9. Rachel Haidu, “Bilder der Welt und Inschrift des Early Photo Paintings,” in: The Oxford Art Journal, Alex Danchev, “Der Künstler und der Terrorist oder Krieges,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Panorama, vol. 37, 2014, pp.305–25; 344–5. das Malbare und das Unmalbare: Gerhard Richter Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gerhard Büttner, Kirche sein als communio: das neue und die Baader-Meinhof-Gruppe,” in: Gerhard Munich 2012, pp.201–13. Kirchenfenster im südlichen Querhaus des Kölner Domes Richter. Fotografie und Malerei—Malerei als Fotografie, Paul B. Jaskot, “Gerhard Richter and the Advent of von Gerhard Richter, Berlin, Münster 2015 (Ästhetik, eds. Dietmar Elger and Kerstin Küster, Cologne the Nazi Past: the Persistance of the Perpetrator,” Theologie, Liturgik, vol. 62). 2011 (Schriften des Gerhard Richter Archiv in: The Nazi Perpetrator: Postwar German Art and the Christian Lotz, The Art of Gerhard Richter: Hermeneutics, Dresden, vol. 8), pp.51–81. Politics of the Right, Minneapolis 2012, pp.47–81. Images, Meaning. London 2015. Dietmar Elger, “‘Es ist, wie es ist.’ Gerhard Richters Christine Mehring, “Ob Osten, ob Westen, zu Hause Angela Mengoni, “‘Plus dramatiques les événements, Briefe an zwei Künstlerfreunde,” in: exhib. cat. ist’s am besten: Freunde, Familie und Design in plus important la forme’: montagne et guerre Gerhard Richter, Bilder einer Epoche, Bucerius Kunst Richters frühen Jahren,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard préventive dans ‘War Cut’ de Gerhard Richter,” in: Forum, Hamburg 2011, pp.28–36. Richter, Panorama, Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Au prisme figural: le sens des images entre forme et force, Emanuele Garbin, Il bordo del mondo. La forma dello Museen zu Berlin, Munich 2012, pp.29–43. Rennes 2015, pp.97–110. sguardo nella pittura di Gerhard Richter, Venice 2011. Camille Morineau, “Das Blow-Up, Primärfarben und Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Gerhard Richter’s ‘Tisch’: Rachel Haidu, “Arrogante Texte: Gerhard Richters Verdopplungen,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, memory images and German disavowal in 1962,” Familienbilder,” in: Gerhard Richter. Fotografie und Panorama, Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu in: Interiors and Interiority, ed. Ewa Lajer-Burcharth, Malerei—Malerei als Fotografie, eds. Dietmar Elger Berlin, Munich 2012, pp.123–36. Berlin, Boston 2016, pp.389–412. and Kerstin Küster, Cologne 2011 (Schriften des Gerhard Richter and Nicholas Serota. “‘Ich habe nichts Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, “Gerhard Richter: die Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden, vol. 8), pp.39–49. zu sagen, und ich sage es.’ Gespräche zwischen Bedingungen der Zeichnung zeichnen,” in: exhib. Rosemary Hawker, “Idiom Postmedium: Wenn Gerhard Richter und Nicholas Serota, Frühjahr cat. Gerhard Richter, Abstrakte Bilder und Zeichnungen, Gerhard Richter Fotos malt,” in: Gerhard Richter. 2011,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Panorama, Marian Goodman Gallery, New York. Cologne Fotografie und Malerei—Malerei als Fotografie, eds. Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, 2016, pp.113–22. Dietmar Elger and Kerstin Küster, Cologne 2011 Munich 2012, pp.15–27. Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, Gerhard Richters “Birkenau”- (Schriften des Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden, Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, Scheiben und Strips von Bilder, Cologne 2016. vol. 8), pp.107–33. Gerhard Richter, Cologne 2013 (Schriften des Ger- Georges Didi-Huberman, “Sortir du plan: deux lettres Peter Osborne; “Malerei der Negation: Gerhard hard Richter Archiv Dresden, vol. 10). à Gerhard Richter,” in: Les Cahiers du Musée national Richters Negative,” in: Gerhard Richter. Fotografie Timothy J. Clark, “Le gris sur gris de Gerhard Richter,” d’art moderne, No. 135, Paris, Spring 2016, pp.74–105. und Malerei—Malerei als Fotografie, eds. Dietmar in: Les Cahiers du Musée national d’art moderne, Georges Didi-Huberman, “Sortir du plan: Elger and Kerstin Küster, Cologne 2011 (Schriften No. 124, Paris 2013, pp.3–17. des Gerhard Richter Archiv Dresden, vol. 8), 2. l’écorcement: 3e et 4e lettres à Gerhard Richter,” pp.149–61. John J. Curley, A Conspiracy of Images: Andy Warhol, in: Les Cahiers du Musée national d’art moderne, Gerhard Richter, and the Art of the Cold War, No. 137, Paris, Fall 2016, pp.17–59. Dietmar Rübel, “Cut and Paint. Die Bilder der New Haven 2013. populären Presse und die Photomalerei der Dietmar Elger, “Images in the Plural. Gerhard Richter’s sechziger Jahre,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Monika Jenni-Preihs, Gerhard Richter und die Geschichte ‘14 Standing Panes’ for Toyoshima,” in: Gerhard Bilder einer Epoche, Bucerius Kunst Forum, Deutschlands, Vienna and Berlin 2013 (Grazer Richter, 14 panes of glass for Toyoshima, dedicated to Hamburg 2011, pp.92–103. Edition, ed. Johann Konrad Eberlein, vol. 13). futility, Tokyo 2016, pp.74–8. Uwe M. Schneede, “Gerhard Richters Bilder einer Florian Klinger, Theorie der Form. Gerhard Richter und die Helmut Friedel, “Gerhard Richter, Kerze,” 1982, in: Epoche,” in: exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Bilder einer Kunst des pragmatischen Zeitalters, Munich 2013. exhib. cat. Die Kerze. Ein Motiv in der zeitgenössischen Epoche, Bucerius Kunst Forum, Hamburg 2011, Guido Meincke, Gerhard Richter. Zeitgenossenschaft, Kunst, Museum Frieder Burda, Baden-Baden, pp.12–27. Munich 2013. Cologne 2016, pp.11–21.

476 Sumi Hayashi, “Gerhard Richter / Toyoshima Project,” in: Gerhard Richter, 14 panes of glass for Toyoshima, dedicated to futility, Tokyo 2016, pp.70–3. Dieter Schwarz, “Wieder beginnen. Neue abstrakte Bilder von Gerhard Richter,” in exhib. cat. Gerhard Richter, Abstrakte Bilder und Zeichnungen, Marian Goodman Gallery, New York, Cologne 2016, pp.55–65. Wouter Weijers, “A strange lostness that is palpably present: on Gerhard Richter’s ‘Cologne Cathedral Window,’” in: Monuments & memory: Christian cult-buildings and constructions of the past: Essays in honour of Sible de Blaauw, Turnhout 2016, pp.381–92. Darryn Ansted, The Artwork of Gerhard Richter: Painting, critical theory and cultural transformation. London, New York 2017. Hubertus Butin, Gerhard Richter, Unikate in Serie/Unique Pieces in Series, ed. Thomas Olbricht, Cologne 2017. Aline Guillermet, “‘Painting like nature’: chance and landscape in Gerhard Richter’s overpainted photographs,” in: Art History, vol. 40, No.1 (February 2017), pp.178–199. movies and photographs Gerhard Richter, Das Kölner Domfenster. A film by Corinna Belz, 2008, DVD. Gerhard Richter, Painting. A movie by Corinna Belz, 2011 zero one film/Terz Film/WDR/mdr—DVD 9 Pal, 97 minutes running time. Inside the Studio. Erika Kiffl fotografiert Gerhard Richter, eds. Renate Buschmann and Daniel Marzona, Cologne 2008. Benjamin Katz: Gerhard Richter at Work, ed. Dietmar Elger, Dresden and Munich 2012. Louise Lawler and/or Gerhard Richter. Photographs and Works, ed. Dietmar Elger, Dresden and Munich 2012.

477 picture credits

The Gerhard Richter studio, Cologne, has kindly provided the publisher with most of the illustrations of Gerhard Richter’s works used in this volume via his database www.gerhard-richter-images.de and the Gerhard Richter Archive / Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. We thank all persons and institutions involved for their great help and support, in particular Konstanze Ell, Kerstin Küster, Dietmar Elger, and Jaroslaw Topolewski. Gerhard Richter, The Daily Practice of Painting, Writings 1962–1993, ed. Hans Ulrich Obrist, MIT Press, Cambridge (Mass.) 1995.

Further illustrations are from the following sources or photographers: Photograph © Hiroshi Araki, Courtesy Wako Works of Art: pl. 95 Photograph © Norbert Arns: fig. 162 Photograph © Hubert Becker, Atelier Gerhard Richter: fig. 50 Photograph © Laurenz Berges / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn: figs. 81–83 Photograph © Sibylle Forster, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Munich / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, for the works of Joseph Beuys: fig. 131 Photograph © David Brandt, Dresden: pl. 56 Photograph © Marcus Buck: fig. p. 190 Photograph © Coralimages 2020 / dreamstime.com (75566604): pl. 93 © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, for the works of Isa Genzken: fig. 85 © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, for the works of Isa Genzken / Photograph © Veronika Hebben: pl. 87, pl. 88 Photograph © Isa Genzken: fig. 69, fig. 70 Photograph © Reinhard Görner: pl. 92 The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York / Photograph © Mathias Schormann: pl. 90, fig. 91 Photograph © Werner J. Hannappel, Essen / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn: pl. 60 Photograph © Benjamin Katz / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn: fig. 5, fig. 6, fig. 8, fig. 47, fig. 48 © The Ellsworth Kelly Foundation, Spencertown, NY: fig. 59 Photograph © Erika Kiffl, Düsseldorf: fig. 3, fig. 18, fig. 49 Photograph © Keizo Kioku, Courtesy Wako Works of Art: pl.s 96 a+b Photograph © Chieko Kitade: fig. 158 © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, for the works of Yves Klein: fig. 17, fig. 80 Photograph © Dombauarchiv Köln, Matz and Schenk: pl. 94 Photograph © Achim Kukulies, Düsseldorf: pl. 62 Photograph © Archive Lenbachhaus: fig. 74 Photograph © Manfred Leve: fig. 2, fig. 46 © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, for the works of Konrad Lueg: fig. 24, fig. 53, fig. 54 Photograph © Presseamt Münster / Michael C. Möller: pl. 97 a+b, pl. 98 Photograph © Sabine Moritz: frontispiece, fig. 7 Photograph © Mark Niedermann: pl. 63 Photograph © Attilio Maranzano: fig. 87, fig. 88 © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, for the works of Blinky Palermo: fig. 56, fig. 92 © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn, for the works of Sigmar Polke: fig. 27, fig. 30, fig. 51, fig. 52, fig. 124 © The Pollock-Krasner Foundation / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York: fig. 16 Photograph © Matthias Rietschel: fig. 110 © SMK Photograph: pl. 59 Atelier Thomas Struth, Berlin / Photograph © Thomas Struth: fig. 9, fig. 10, fig. 11 © The Andy Warhol Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York: fig. 114 Photograph © S. White: fig. 67 Schirmer / Mosel publisher’s archive: pl. 16

In some cases, the publisher has failed to identify the beneficial owners of images included in this book. The publisher is prepared to settle any claims for the use of these images. The catalogue raisonné (CR) numbers in the text and in the plate captions refer to the four-volume Gerhard Richter Catalogue Raisonné published between 2011 and 2015, edited by Dietmar Elger, Gerhard Richter Archiv / Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (see Bibliography, p. 471) or the digital catalog of works, which also includes the works from 2015 onward at www.gerhard-richter-images.de Works that are not reproduced in this book are indicated in the text with their CR number.

The publishers and the author thank the Städtische Galerie in the Lenbachhaus, Munich, for their kind help in the production of this book. We thank the Udo and Anette Brandhorst Foundation, Munich, and the Friends of the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, for their help in the creation of the international edition of this book.

© for this edition Prestel Verlag, Munich · London · New York, 2020 A member of Verlagsgruppe Random House GmbH Neumarkter Strasse 28 · D-81673 Munich © for the original German edition: Schirmer / Mosel, Munich, 2019 © for the works by Gerhard Richter: Gerhard Richter, Cologne, 2019

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Translated from the German by Ian Pepper, Emily Plank, Helen Shiner Editorial direction: Julie Kiefer Project management: Sylvia Goulding, Les Arques, and bookwise, Munich Copyediting: Gabriele Gugetzer Typesetting: Mike Goulding Proofreading: Lesley Robb, Diana Vowles Production management: Andrea Cobré Separations: Bayermedia, Munich Printing and binding: Passavia, Passau

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ISBN 978-3-7913-8651-5 www.prestel.com