Gerhard Richter ”Ohne Titel (5.3.91)”. 1991

Watercolour on paper. 30 × 39,5 cm (11 ¾ × 15 ½ in.). Signed and dated in black ink upper left: Richter, 5 March 1991. The work will be included in the catalogue raisonné of watercolours by Gerhard Richter, currently in preparation by the Gerhard Richter Archive of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden.. [3189] Framed We would like to thank the Gerhard Richter Archiv, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, for kindly providing additional information. Watercolour on paper. 30 × 39,5 cm (11 ¾ × 15 ½ in.). Signed and dated in black ink upper left: Richter, 5 March 1991. The work will be included in the catalogue raisonné of watercolours by Gerhard Richter, currently in preparation by the Gerhard Richter Archive of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden.. [3189] Framed, We would like to thank the Gerhard Richter Archiv, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, for kindly providing additional information. Galerie Fred Jahn, Munich / Private collection, Switzerland (until 2011) / Schönewald Fine Arts, Düsseldorf / Private collection, North Rhine-Westphalia (acquired from Sies Fine Arts, Düsseldorf, in 2012), Galerie Fred Jahn, Munich / Private collection, Switzerland (until 2011) / Schönewald Fine Arts, Düsseldorf / Private collection, North Rhine-Westphalia (acquired from Sies Fine Arts, Düsseldorf, in 2012), Gerhard Richter. Aquarelle 1977–1997. Düsseldorf, Schönewald Fine Arts, 2021/22, ill. p. 115. Auction: Bedeutende Gemälde, Skulpturen, Aquarelle, Zeichnungen und Multiples. Zurich, germann Auktionen, 23 May 2011, lot 9, ill. on the cover. In the late 1970s, encouraged by the Munich-based gallerist Fred Jahn, Gerhard Richter painted his first series of watercolours while on holiday in Switzerland. In an interview in 1985, he emphasised the personal nature of his works on paper: “It was only this year, no, last year, that I found the confidence to make watercolours. I had done a few before, and then suddenly, in 1984, I made several. Fred Jahn published a book about them, and that helped me gain the confidence to make something personal, something small. I used to dismiss these things as too artistic, too typical, as the sort of things artists make, beautiful drawings and watercolours” (Gerhard Richter, in: Gerhard Richter, Texte 1971 bis 2007, ed. Dieter Schwarz, Cologne 1999, pp. 343 ff.). Even in this watercolour, Gerhard Richter does not entirely succeed in avoiding the “artistic” and the “beautiful”. The process of watercolour painting, with its fluid pigments running into and away from one another, means that the result cannot be precisely planned and is therefore unpredictable. At the same time, however, it is impossible to deny the aesthetic appeal of the luminous, rich colours, which range from honey-yellow ochre delicately interwoven with red veins to a yellow-green mélange. The artist values the processes made possible by this technique, such as pouring, dripping, applying and directing the flow of paint. Because the outcome cannot be precisely controlled, a certain “casualness” (Gerhard Richter) emerges, one that is difficult to achieve in his paintings. He exploits the translucent qualities of watercolour in his compositions while avoiding the formation of blooms. On the contrary, through several successive stages of work, each requiring brief intervals for drying, he builds up interwoven layers of colour. This layering is a feature the watercolours share with his large-scale abstract paintings. Yet the watercolour technique also imposes limitations: unlike canvas, paper is not designed to absorb numerous layers of paint and the corresponding amount of moisture. Richter must therefore recognise the point of completion earlier than he would in a painting. He generally develops these relatively small, luminous works during concentrated, intensive periods of work. The watercolours are usually dated, with the date serving in place of a title. They also offer insight into the artist’s working process: he produced a new work almost every day, as he did here on 5 March 1991. MvL

Estimate:£125,392.5

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