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Townscape SL

Stadtbild SL
Townscape SL

1969 124 cm x 124 cm Catalogue Raisonné: 218-2

Oil on canvas

In contrast to the aerial photographs, some of which depict entire areas of towns, the townscapes are from a shorter distance, having been based on photographs of architectural models. Gerhard Richter omits entirely or only hints at details such as windows; the architecture is reduced to basic forms, leaving the distinct geometric shapes of individual buildings clearly recognizable.


The buildings are mainly rendered in light colours, with the prominent shadows in the paintings conveying the impression of bright sunlight. The paint is applied extensively; only some parts, often depicting trees or bushes, show distinct brushwork and additional shades of grey.


The unreal, partly sterile feel of the image can be attributed to both the reduction in detail and the use of an architectural model as the source image.

The simplified architectural forms illustrate how, while Gerhard Richter deals with the process of abstraction in this series, the motif always remains identifiable.


The depictions of minimalist architecture of the post-war era reflect an important sociopolitical issue of the 1950s and 1960s. In the course of the rebuilding of war-damaged Germany, new buildings of the kind depicted replaced lost houses. Thus, these paintings illustrate the optimistic fresh start made after the Second World War and can be understood as a counterpoint to the townscapes that are reminiscent of bombed-out cities.

Notes prepared by editorial team

Marieluise Hessel collection, Hessel Museum of Art, Annandale-on-Hudson, USA

This artwork is based on an image included in Atlas:

This artwork was shown in the following exhibitions:

This artwork is included in the following publications:

Title
Author
Date
Unconsolable Contemporary: Observing Gerhard Richter
Rabinow, Paul
2017

Publisher

Duke University Press, Durham

Year

2017

Details

Softcover, 163 pages

ISBN

9780822370017

Language

English

Category

Monographs

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Gerhard Richter, Panorama: une rétrospective = a retrospective
Godfrey, Mark / Serota, Nicholas / Brill, Dorothée / Morineau, Camille / Borchardt-Hume, Achim / Dickson, Amy / Haidu, Rachel / Mehring, Christine
2012

Publisher

Édition du Centre Pompidou, Paris

Year

2012

Editor

Godfrey, Mark / Serota, Nicholas / Brill, Dorothée / Morineau, Camille

Details

Hardback, 304 pages

ISBN

978-2844265746, 284426574X

Language

French, English

Category

Solo Exhibitions

Exhibitions

...

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Gerhard Richter: Panorama: Retrospektive
Godfrey, Mark / Serota, Nicholas / Brill, Dorothée / Morineau, Camille / Borchardt-Hume, Achim / Dickson, Amy / Haidu, Rachel / Mehring, Christine
2012

Publisher

Prestel, München

Year

2012

Editor

Godfrey, Mark / Serota, Nicholas / Brill, Dorothée / Morineau, Camille

Details

Hardback, 305 pages

ISBN

9783791351896

Language

German

Category

Solo Exhibitions

Exhibitions

...

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Gerhard Richter: Panorama: A Retrospective
Godfrey, Mark / Serota, Nicholas / Brill, Dorothée / Morineau, Camille / Borchardt-Hume, Achim / Dickson, Amy / Haidu, Rachel / Mehring, Christine
2011
Il bordo del mondo: La forma sguardo nella pittura di Gerhard Richter
Garbin, Emanuele
2011

Publisher

Marsilio, Venezia

Year

2011

Details

Softcover, 219 pages

ISBN

9788831711128

Language

Italian

Category

Monographs

...

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September. A History Painting by Gerhard Richter
Storr, Robert
2010

Publisher

Tate Publishing, London

Year

2010

Details

Softcover, 96 pages

ISBN

9781854379641

Language

English

Category

Monographs

In this publication, eminent American scholar and curator Robert Storr offers an authoritative consideration of September, Richter’s 2005 painting made in response to the attacks on the WorldTrade Center of 11 September 2001,

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Gerhard Richter. A Life in Painting
Elger, Dietmar
2009

Publisher

University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL

Year

2009

Details

Hardback, 408 pages

ISBN

9780226203232

Language

English

Category

Monographs

Gerhard Richter has been widely regarded as a publicity shy artist. However, the biography Gerhard Richter. A Life in Painting gives an insight into Richter’s personal history as well as into the development of his artistic œuvre.

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Gerhard Richter: Abstrakte Bilder
Wilmes, Ulrich / Buchloh, Benjamin H. D. / Söntgen, Beate / Stemmrich, Gregor
2008

Publisher

Hatje Cantz Verlag, Ostfildern-Ruit

Year

2008

Details

Hardback, 160 pages

ISBN

3775722483

Language

German

Category

Solo Exhibitions

Exhibitions

The book was published on the occasion of the exhibition Gerhard Richter. Abstrakte Bilder at Museum Ludwig, Cologne and Haus der Kunst, Munich. The exhibitions were dedicated to Gerhard Richter’s abstract pictures

...
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Gerhard Richter. Large Abstracts
Wilmes, Ulrich / Buchloh, Benjamin H. D. / Söntgen, Beate / Stemmrich, Gregor
2008

Publisher

Hatje Cantz Verlag, Ostfildern-Ruit

Year

2008

Details

Hardback, 160 pages

ISBN

9783775722490

Language

English

Category

Solo Exhibitions

Exhibitions

The book was published on the occasion of the exhibition Gerhard Richter. Abstrakte Bilder at Museum Ludwig, Cologne and Haus der Kunst, Munich. The exhibitions were dedicated to Gerhard Richter’s abstract pictures

...
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Gerhard Richter. Portraits
Gronert, Stefan / Butin, Hubertus
2006

Publisher

Hatje Cantz, Ostildern-Ruit

Year

2006

Details

Hardback, 224 pages

ISBN

9783775717243

Language

German

Category

Monographs

Exhibitions

Gerhard Richter. Portraits is the first publication that focuses solely on Richter’s portraits, many of which have now gained both recognition and veneration across the globe.

...
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Gerhard Richter. Catalogue Raisonné 1993–2004
Zweite, Armin
2005

Publisher

Richter Verlag, Düsseldorf in association with D.A.P Distributed Art Publishers, New York, NY

Year

2005

Details

Hardback, 324 pages

ISBN

9783937572215, 393757221X

Language

English

Category

Solo Exhibitions

Exhibitions

This catalogue raisonné records Richter’s works in the years 1993-2004. In his work, Gerhard Richter calls into question painting's boundaries, and the labels applied to painting and theories connected with them.

...
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Gerhard Richter
Corà, Bruno / Buchloh, Benjamin H. D. / Chevrier, Jean Francois / Moscati, Italo
1999

Publisher

Gli Ori, Prato

Year

1999

Details

Softcover, 205 pages

ISBN

8887700079

Language

Italian, English

Category

Solo Exhibitions

Exhibitions

...

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Gerhard Richter, 18. Oktober 1977. Eine Kunst-Monographie
Hemken, Kai-Uwe
1998

Publisher

Insel-Verlag, Frankfurt a. M.

Year

1998

Details

Softcover, 172 pages

ISBN

345833937X

Language

German

Category

Monographs

...

More Details
Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke, Arnulf Rainer. Sammlung Frieder Burda = Collection Frieder Burda
Poetter, Jochen / Brehm, Margrit / Möckel, Birgit
1996

Publisher

Hatje Cantz Verlag, Ostfildern-Ruit

Year

1996

Details

Hardback, 311 pages

ISBN

3893228608

Language

English, German

Category

Group Exhibitions

Exhibitions

...

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Gerhard Richter: Catalogue Raisonné 1962 - 1993
Pagé, Suzanne / Jacob, Wenzel / Springfield, Björn / König, Kasper / Buchloh, Benjamin H. D.
1993

Publisher

Hatje Cantz Verlag, Ostfildern-Ruit

Year

1993

ISBN

3893225544

Language

German, English, French

Category

Solo Exhibitions

Notes

Three-volume box set.

Exhibitions

Three-volume box set. Vol. 1: Illustrated works in exhibition. This volume (196 pp) contains approximately 92 four-colour and black and white plates (272 total works reproduced),

...
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Gerhard Richter. Bilder = Paintings 1962 - 1985
Harten, Jürgen / Hering, Karl-Heinz / Honisch, Dieter / Loock, Ulrich / Ronte, Dieter / Elger, Dietmar
1986
Focus on the Image. Selections from the Rivendell Collection
Felshin, Nina
1985
Gerhard Richter. 36. Biennale di Venezia, Padiglione tedesco = 36. Biennale in Venedig, Deutscher Pavilion = 36. Biennale in Venice, German Pavilion
Honisch, Dieter / Helms, Dietrich / Honnef, Klaus / Ohff, Heinz / Dienst, Rolf Gunther / Schön, Rolf / Polke, Sigmar
1972

Publisher

Museum Folkwang, Essen

Year

1972

Details

Hardback, 154 pages

Language

Italian, German, English

Category

Solo Exhibitions

Exhibitions

...

More Details

This artwork is shown or mentioned in the following videos: