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Notes
The work entitled Youth Portrait shows Ulrike Meinhof, a young, politically active journalist before she became a protagonist of the radical left-wing German terrorist organization the Red Army Faction (RAF). The composition of the painting is reminiscent of celebrity portrait photography, and the use of light in front of a dark background recalls Old Master paintings. Gerhard Richter’s characteristic technique of gently blurring the painting reinforces the impression of youth and tenderness of the person depicted.
The painting is part of Richter’s series October 18, 1977, about the activities and demise of the RAF. As with the other works in this cycle, Youth Portrait is based on a photograph selected by Richter and transferred into the medium of painting. Although it does not mark the beginning of the series in the artist’s catalogue raisonné, it is often presented as the introductory image since it shows the earliest event in the chronology of the RAF within the series of paintings. The original photograph was probably taken in 1970 in connection with Bambule, a film made by Meinhof about young female protesters. Its scheduled TV transmission was cancelled because of her involvement in the violent escape of Andreas Baader from prison in Berlin-Tegel. The escape is often understood to have been the inception of the RAF; thus the photograph was taken at a time when Meinhof’s radicalisation was imminent.
While working on the painting, Richter made a number of changes from the source photograph. In addition to softening the image through blurring, he has made Meinhof look younger – at that time she was actually 35 years old but here looks more childlike. Her gaze seems less determined than in the photograph, and her features less animated. In Richter’s painting, Meinhof’s expression exudes an almost melancholic thoughtfulness. The title of the work underlines Richter’s intention to depict Meinhof as an inexperienced and unsuspecting young woman.
Youth Portrait offers a stark contrast to many of the other paintings in the October 18, 1977 cycle, which focus more on the death of the terrorists. Therefore it provokes thoughts about what had happened to her and how she had changed between the taking of this photograph and the photographs taken following her death that Richter also used for this series [Dead, CR: 667/1-3].
Notes prepared by editorial team -
Collection
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, USA
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Exhibitions
- Gerhard Richter: Panorama
Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France June 06, 2012 September 24, 2012
- Gerhard Richter: Panorama
Neue und Alte Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany February 12, 2012 May 13, 2012
- Gerhard Richter: Panorama
Tate Modern, London, UK October 06, 2011 January 08, 2012
- Gerhard Richter. Bilder einer Epoche
Gerhard Richter: Images of an Era
Bucerius Kunst Forum, Hamburg, Germany February 05, 2011 May 15, 2011
- Gerhard Richter. 18. Oktober 1977
Gerhard Richter: October 18, 1977
Galerie Neue Meister, Albertinum, Dresden, Germany March 19, 2005 January 02, 2006
- Das MoMa in Berlin. Meisterwerke aus dem Museum of Modern Art, New York
MoMA in Berlin: Masterpieces from the Museum of Modern Art, New York
Neue Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany February 20, 2004 September 19, 2004
- Gerhard Richter: 40 Years of Painting
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C., USA February 27, 2003 May 18, 2003
- Gerhard Richter: 40 Years of Painting
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), San Francisco, USA October 11, 2002 January 14, 2003
- Gerhard Richter: 40 Years of Painting
The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, USA June 14, 2002 September 14, 2002
- Gerhard Richter: 40 Years of Painting
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, USA February 14, 2002 May 20, 2002
- Gerhard Richter. 18. Oktober 1977
Gerhard Richter: October 18, 1977
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, USA September 28, 2000 January 30, 2001
- Open Ends
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, USA September 28, 2000 March 04, 2001
- Szenenwechsel XIII
Change of Scene XIII
Museum für Moderne Kunst (MMK), Frankfurt am Main, Germany January 30, 1998 May 10, 1998
- Deutschlandbilder. Kunst aus einem geteilten Land
Images of Germany: Art from a Divided Country
Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, Germany September 07, 1997 January 11, 1998
- Szenenwechsel IX
Change of Scene IX
Museum für Moderne Kunst (MMK), Frankfurt am Main, Germany January 31, 1996 May 12, 1996
- Gerhard Richter – Paintings
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel September 19, 1995 December 03, 1995
- Public Information: Desire, Disaster, Document
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), San Francisco, USA January 18, 1995 April 30, 1995
- Gerhard Richter
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, Spain June 07, 1994 August 22, 1994
- Gerhard Richter
Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden March 12, 1994 May 08, 1994
- Gerhard Richter. Malerei 1962–1993
Gerhard Richter: Painting 1962–1993
Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn, Germany December 10, 1993 February 13, 1994
- Gerhard Richter. Peinture
Gerhard Richter: Painting
Musée d'art moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France September 23, 1993 November 21, 1993
- Eröffnungsausstellung
Inaugural Exhibition
Museum für Moderne Kunst (MMK), Frankfurt am Main, Germany June 06, 1991 January 12, 1992
- Gerhard Richter. 18. Oktober 1977
Gerhard Richter: October 18, 1977
The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), Boston, USA January 18, 1991 March 18, 1991
- Gerhard Richter: 18 Oktober 1977 and Recent Abstractions
Lannan Foundation, Los Angeles, USA July 10, 1990 September 01, 1990
- Gerhard Richter. 18. Oktober 1977
Gerhard Richter: October 18, 1977
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Canada May 11, 1990 June 24, 1990
- Gerhard Richter. 18. Oktober 1977
Gerhard Richter: October 18, 1977
Grey Art Gallery and Study Center, New York, USA March 05, 1990 April 21, 1990
- Gerhard Richter. 18. Oktober 1977
Gerhard Richter: October 18, 1977
Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, USA January 06, 1990 February 04, 1990
- Gerhard Richter 1988/89
Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands October 15, 1989 December 03, 1989
- Gerhard Richter. 18. Oktober 1977
Gerhard Richter: October 18, 1977
Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), London, UK August 23, 1989 October 01, 1989
- Gerhard Richter. 18. Oktober 1977
Gerhard Richter: October 18, 1977
Portikus, Frankfurt am Main, Germany April 29, 1989 June 11, 1989
- Gerhard Richter. 18. Oktober 1977
Gerhard Richter: October 18, 1977
Museum Haus Esters, Krefeld, Germany February 12, 1989 April 09, 1989
- Gerhard Richter: Panorama
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Videos
This artwork is shown in the following exhibition videos:
- Gerhard Richter: Panorama, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France, 2012
- Gerhard Richter: Panorama, Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany, 2012
- Images of an Era, Bucerius Kunst Forum, Hamburg, Germany, 2011
- Gerhard Richter: Panorama, Tate Modern, London, UK, 2011
This artwork is mentioned in the following talks:
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Literature
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Schampers, Karel / Tilroe, Anna / Buchloh, Benjamin H. D.
Gerhard Richter 1988/89 Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam, 1989 Mentioned: p. 161Discussed: pp. 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41Illustrated: p. 71 (colour) -
Zweite, Armin
Gerhard Richter. Atlas Verlag Fred Jahn, München, 1989 Mentioned: p. 10 -
Butin, Hubertus
Zu Richters Oktober-Bildern Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, Köln, 1991 Mentioned: p. 46Discussed: pp. 19, 47, 48Illustrated: p. 19 -
Obrist, Hans Ulrich / Pelzer, Birgit / Tosatto, Guy
Gerhard Richter. 100 Pictures Hatje Cantz, Ostfildern-Ruit, 1996 Mentioned: p. 148 -
Obrist, Hans Ulrich / Pelzer, Birgit / Tosatto, Guy
Gerhard Richter. 100 Bilder Hatje Cantz Verlag, Ostfildern-Ruit, 1996 Mentioned: p. 150 -
Elger, Dietmar
Gerhard Richter. Maler DuMont, Köln, 2002 Mentioned: pp. 406, 425, 430Discussed: pp. 122, 356, 366, 381, 383Illustrated: p. 372 -
Storr, Robert
Gerhard Richter. Forty Years of Painting The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, 2002 Mentioned: p. 76Discussed: p. 78Illustrated: p. 207 (colour) -
Storr, Robert
Gerhard Richter. Malerei Hatje Cantz Verlag, Ostfildern-Ruit, 2002 Mentioned: p. 75Discussed: p. 78Illustrated: p. 207 (colour) -
Storr, Robert
Gerhard Richter. Doubt and Belief in Painting The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY, 2003 Mentioned: pp. 117, 118, 198, 244Discussed: pp. 121, 243Illustrated: p. 188 -
Friedel, Helmut
Gerhard Richter. Atlas Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, Köln, 2006 Mentioned: pp. 8, 13, 14 -
Wilmes, Ulrich / Buchloh, Benjamin H. D. / Söntgen, Beate / Stemmrich, Gregor
Gerhard Richter. Abstrakte Bilder Hatje Cantz Verlag, Ostfildern-Ruit, 2008 Mentioned: p. 33 -
Wilmes, Ulrich / Buchloh, Benjamin H. D. / Söntgen, Beate / Stemmrich, Gregor
Gerhard Richter. Large Abstracts Hatje Cantz Verlag, Ostfildern-Ruit, 2008 Mentioned: p. 33 -
Elger, Dietmar / Roth, Martin / Stange, Eva-Maria
Gerhard Richter. Porträt Dr. Knobloch (Patrimonia 344) Kulturstiftung der Länder in Verbindung mit dem Gerhard Richter Archiv, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden, 2009 Mentioned: p. 30 -
Moorhouse, Paul
Die Porträts von Gerhard Richter DuMont, Köln, 2009 Mentioned: p. 171Illustrated: p. 132 (colour) -
Moorhouse, Paul
Gerhard Richter Portraits. Painting Appearances National Portrait Gallery Publications, London, 2009 Mentioned: p. 171Illustrated: p. 132 (colour)
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Schampers, Karel / Tilroe, Anna / Buchloh, Benjamin H. D.