Swiss Alps B2' (from: Swiss Alps II), silkscreen in black and two shades of grey on cardboard, 1969, 69.4 cm x 69.4 cm sheet dimension, signed, numbered 23/50 on verso, stamped, motif number B2 circled, dated 1969, some light rimmed, minimal lifting at margins, literature: Wvz. Butin 21b2.
Gerhard Richter was born in Dresden in 1932. After the artist studied in Dresden and at the Düsseldorf Academy, he exhibited his first works. These translated the familiar newspaper clippings into black and white and blurred design form. ''In painting from photographic originals, Richter finds his method of exploring the process of painting in its possibilities. In the process, the work is characterised by constant changes and breaks [...]''. This same inconsistency also describes his oeuvre, which is defined by groups of works that are contradictory or juxtaposed. The artist created portraits, colour panels, cityscapes and abstract paintings with grey or coloured streaks drawn with a squeegee. Likewise clouds, vanitas motifs, works with a high spatial effect or events. The artist also refers to his own collection of photographic works, which he often uses as models. 'Swiss Alps II (B2) ', one of a series of five works (motifs A1, A2, B1, B2, B3), refers to the painting of the same name from 1969 (WV no. of paintings 224/1). For this in turn is based on photographs taken by Richter from an airplane window during a trip to Milan in 1968.
