About this artwork

After he moved to West from East Germany in 1961, until the early 1970s, Richter painted almost exclusively in a figurative style. From that time until the present, he has concentrated most (but by no means all) of his energies on exploring the possibilities of abstract painting. Paintings such as ‘Untitled’ 1985 look superficially like the informal abstractions of the 1950s but in fact owe more to the chance effects of scraping and smudging paint than to exquisite aesthetic decisions as to what mark and paint colour to put next to another. For Richter, abstract paintings have to look natural, and part of another reality, rather than an anguished personal expression.

Updated before 2020

  • artist:
    Gerhard Richter (born 1932) German
  • title:
    Untitled
  • date created:
    1985
  • materials:
    Oil paint on paper
  • measurements:
    59.20 x 85.30 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:
    AR00346
  • gallery:
  • glossary:
  • artwork photographed by:
    Antonia Reeve
This artwork is part of Artist Rooms
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Gerhard Richter

Gerhard Richter