Landscapes

Book excerpt: Gerhard Richter (*1932 in Dresden) has always dealt with the landscape. No other motif has fascinated him as much or kept him so occupied over the years: black-and-white landscapes based on images from magazines and amateur photos; views of mountains and parks painted in thick impasto; softly hued, transparent, illusionist lake scenes. Ever since the subtle Corsica paintings of 1968/69, landscapes have become an established, distinct group of works within the artist's oeuvre. Richter captures reality in a painterly way, such that landscape and abstraction manifest not as opposites but as related concepts. Containing outstanding illustrations and insightful texts, this volume examines Richter's landscapes from the early sixties to the present. (German edition ISBN 978-3-7757-2638-2)