About this artwork

This is one of four photographic sets of ‘48 Portraits’ that Richter made in 1998. It is based on the paintings of the same title that he made for the German Pavilion in the 1972 Venice Biennale. Richter had long had the idea of painting a series of famous men; being nominated to represent Germany and show in the neo-classical building in Venice gave him the opportunity he needed. Richter based his painting on the black and white photographic images of famous men of letters, philosophers and scientists that he found in various encyclopaedia and dictionaries. Richter avoided artists, because he did not wish to set up a canon of his artistic forefathers. He has simplified the backgrounds and, to some extent, the figures, so that they have as much formal similarity as possible.

Updated before 2020

  • artist:
    Gerhard Richter (born 1932) German
  • title:
    48 Portraits
  • date created:
    1971 - 1972/98
  • materials:
    48 photographs, black and white, on paper between Perspex and aluminium board
  • measurements:
    Each: 68.90 x 53.90 x 2.80 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    ARTIST ROOMS National Galleries of Scotland and Tate. Acquired jointly through The d'Offay Donation with assistance from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and Art Fund, 2008
  • accession number:
    AR00025
  • gallery:
  • artwork photographed by:
    Antonia Reeve
This artwork is part of Artist Rooms
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Gerhard Richter

Gerhard Richter