The two Gerhard Richter paintings entitled Man Shot Down 1 and 2 [CR: 669/1-2] depict the dead Andreas Baader, who was arrested as a co-founder of the terrorist organisation Red Army Faction (RAF) in June 1972. The pictures are based on police photographs capturing the circumstances after the discovery of the RAF suicides in Stuttgart-Stammheim prison on 18th October 1977.

Andreas Baader, lying diagonally on the floor, fills the landscape-format canvas of Man Shot Down 1. While his right arm lies against his body, his left arm is splayed out to one side. Baader's neck appears overextended, his mouth slightly open. Blood from Andreas Baader's head stains the floor. The weapon and the other objects lying scattered around Baader's head are difficult to discern in Richter's painting. The terrorist's black trousers are in stark contrast to his pale face and the white objects near his head, which stand out from the grey floor.

Whereas the first painting is similar to the original photograph because of the selected detail and a moderate blur, in Man Shot Down 2 [CR: 669-2] the stronger blurring causes Baader to appear otherworldly. The boundaries between figure and background are blurred. Baader's face can no longer be identified without any further information. The viewer's angle seems to have changed slightly, and despite greater enlargement, no additional information can be detected.

In both versions of the painting, the splayed-out arm in particular indicates the death of the depicted person, illustrating the loss of control of one's own limbs. This posture recalls, for example, depictions of the Pietà or Jacques-Louis David's history painting The Death of Marat. Such art historical references underline the role of death within the cycle of paintings.

Gerhard Richter describes his creative process of the series as follows: "The ones that weren't paintable were the ones I did paint. The dead. To start with, I wanted more to paint the whole business, the world as it then was, the living reality – I was thinking in terms of something big and comprehensive. But then it all evolved quite differently, in the direction of death. And that's really not all that unpaintable. Far from it, in fact. Death and suffering have always been an artistic theme." (Conversation with Jan Thorn-Prikker concerning the 18 October 1977, 1989 in: Gerhard Richter: Text. Writings, Interviews and Letters 1961–2007, Thames & Hudson, London, 2009, p. 227)

Gerhard Richter's paintings of the dead RAF members caused critical reactions, as did the publication of the source photographs in the German magazine Stern in October 1980. However, the reactions differ from each other according to Richter: "I'd say the photograph provokes horror, and the painting – with the same motif – something more like grief. That comes very close to what I intended." (Conversation with Jan Thorn-Prikker concerning the 18 October 1977, 1989, p. 229) Gerhard Richter's artistic adaptation creates a distance from the events and enables the beholder to reflect on the terrorists' deaths on a judgement-free level, without taking sides.

Notes prepared by editorial team