Product Description

Born in Dresden in 1932, Gerhard Richter studied wall-painting at the socialist Dresdner Akademie, before settling in Dusseldorf in 1961. It was here that he began painting from photographic sources, a method which by his own admission allowed him to make a stand against the academies and the oppressive prototypes of the time, from which he had to free himself to find his own innovative creative style. Central to his work is a strong set of values and ideas which throughout his career he has expressed in notes and writings. In these texts he views his work and his surroundings, reflecting on the spiritual basis of his paintings, on his own role as artist, and on the nature of art itself. This book presents a selection of these writings, accompanied by illustrations of pictures from both private collections and from the studio.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3239488 in Books
• Published on: 1992-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

Customer Reviews

Essential for the Serious Painter
An astoundingly philosophical book concerning painting. Richter's entries reveal a depth to his practice seldom articulated so profoundly by a visual artist. I think this book is an essential read to people seriously engaged in the practice of painting. Not a light read, but extremely thought provoking and engaging.

important questions regarding the practice of painting
Hard to explain why artists need this book without sounding pretentious. Richter questions not only the conventions of art, but his own decisions and intentions. Sometimes he contradicts his younger self. And he's fine with that. The book is at once unsettling and comforting. Anyway, one more book I don't lend out.
(On another level, it's a lively read as an autobiography of sorts: The insistently radical young artist gradually matures into the quietly subversive elder statesman.)