The paintings Townscape M1 up to Townscape M9 [CR: 170/1-9] constitute Gerhard Richter's first series dealing with townscapes. In 1968 Gerhard Richter received the commission to paint a Milan cityscape, which resulted in the creation of Cathedral Square, Milan [CR: 169]. In the course of his preoccupation with the city of Milan as a motif, he also created the paintings Townscape M1 to M9.

Gerhard Richter initially produced one large-scale painting on one canvas, which he later cut into nine almost identically square pieces. The original painting is based on an aerial photograph, which survives on sheet 119 of Richter's Atlas. With Milan Cathedral at its centre, the source photograph allows for the localisation of the individual parts of the picture: Townscape M4 depicts a section of the ring of chapels of Milan Cathedral, and in the foreground the roofs of houses opposite.

Transforming the aerial photograph into paint, Gerhard Richter enlarged it without adding missing details. Thus, black, white and grey colour patches are liberally applied onto the canvas in a pastose manner.

The original painting's format of 275 x 290 cm was designed to be viewed from a greater distance. The dismantling of the painting into nine smaller formats means the beholder must stand closer in order to view them. What could have, from a distance, been recognised as an aerial image of a city disintegrates into abstract lines and areas when seen close-up.

The series Townscapes M1 up to M9 illustrates Gerhard Richter's engagement in the process of abstraction: starting from a concrete depiction, which was enlarged at first and then cropped, the final image can barely be traced back to the source photograph. The numbering of the single parts of the painting, which do not relate in any way to their initial positions in the original large format, also suggests that any kind of identification is less important to Richter than the painterly process of abstraction.

Notes prepared by editorial team