Gerhard Richter Drawings and Watercolors ... - Musée du Louvre

Press release
Exhibition
June 7–September 17, 2012
Denon Wing
1 st floor, rooms 9 and 10
This exhibition is made possible thanks
to the support of Fonds Canson ® pour
l’Art et le Papier
Gerhard Richter is represented by Marian
Goodman Gallery
At the Centre Pompidou, the exhibition
“Gerhard Richter: Panorama” is on view
from June 6 to September 24, 2012.
Gerhard Richter, 7.1991. Ink on paper, 1991.
Kunstmuseum Winterthur © ADAGP, Kunstmuseum
Winterthur
Visitor information
Exhibition locations
The works are displayed in rooms 9 and 10 on the first floor
of the Denon Wing.
Hours
Open every day except Tuesdays, from 9 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.
Evening hours on Wednesdays and Fridays until 9:30 p.m.
Admission fees
Access to the exhibition is included in the purchase of an
admission to the museum’s permanent collections: €10.
Free admission for youths under 18, EU residents under 26,
teachers holding the “Pass Education”, the unemployed, and
holders of the “Louvre Familles”, “Louvre Jeunes”, “Louvre
Professionnels” or “Amis du Louvre” cards at all times, and
for all visitors the first Sunday of each month.
Further information
www.louvre.fr
Gerhard Richter
Drawings and Watercolors, 1957–2008
As a counterpoint to the major traveling retrospective
devoted to the remarkable career of Gerhard Richter,
initiated by Tate Modern (October 6, 2011–January 8, 2012),
subsequently on view at the Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie
(February 12–May 13, 2012), to be followed by the Centre
Pompidou (June 6–September 24, 2012), the Louvre exhibits
about a hundred works on paper in the Mollien rooms of the
museum’s Department of Prints and Drawings.
Born in 1932 in Dresden, Gerhard Richter studied art at his native
city’s Kunstakademie. He fled East Germany in 1961 and took up
residence in Düsseldorf, where he continued his studies. Richter
is one of the most important painters of the last fifty years, having
first represented West Germany at the Venice Biennale in 1972.
From his early Elbe monotypes in 1957 (landscapes executed in
black ink) and his Halifax series of tiny abstract pencil drawings
beginning in 1978 to his November series of ink drawings in
2008, this exhibition at the Louvre explores, for the very first
time in France, the full range of Richter’s works on paper.
Through monotypes, works using ink, pencil or watercolors,
between accidental spills and drips of colors, gray or black
monochrome prints, and the spontaneity of a sharp-edged,
scratched or rubbed-out line, this exhibition traces Richter’s very
singular approach to drawing. In its principles, this approach
represents a perfect antithesis, far removed from the standard run
of characteristics attributed to drawings. In fact, Richter has long
steered clear of the craft-conscious, personal and aesthetic aspects
of work in this area. His critical view of drawing, which he
perceived as too artistic, was shared by several European artists in
the post-war years, and led to radical reinventions, giving rise to
new perspectives on this art form.
The exhibition reveals the rich diversity of works on paper, the
special place held by drawing, and the threads of continuity in the
career of one of the most influential artists of the twentieth
century.
Exhibition curators
Marie-Laure Bernadac, Curator in Charge, Special Advisor on
Contemporary Art, Musée du Louvre, assisted by Aurélie
Tiffreau.
Communications Press relations
Anne‐Laure Beatrix Coralie James
coralie.james@louvre.fr ‐ +33 (0)1 40 20 54 44 / 54 52 (fax)

Gerhard Richter, Häftling / Prisoner 28.5.1998
(98‐5). Graphite on paper, 1998. Kunstmuseum
Winterthur © ADAGP, Kunstmuseum Winterthur
Gerhard Richter, Elbe 2. Ink on paper, 1996.
Kunstmuseum Winterthur
© ADAGP, Kunstmuseum Winterthur
Gerhard Richter, 3.1.1978, (25). Watercolor
on lined paper, 1978. Kunstmuseum
Winterthur
Winterthur
© ADAGP, Kunstmuseum
Publications
Exhibition catalogue
Gerhard Richter: Drawings and Watercolors, 1957–2008
Text by Dieter Schwarz, Director, Kunstmuseum Winterthur.
Co-published by Dilecta and Musée du Louvre Editions.
Bilingual (French/English) edition, 96 pages, €25.
In the Auditorium
Lecture
Friday, June 22 at 6:30 p.m.
Setting aside painting: Works on paper by
Gerhard Richter
Presented by Dieter Schwarz, Director, Kunstmuseum
Winterthur.
What does it mean to take up the art of drawing in the 1960s,
in a context broadly marked by the Pop art aesthetic of Roy
Lichtenstein and the irresolute approach to drawing
developed by Cy Twombly? The rare pencil or ink drawings
executed by Gerhard Richter beginning in 1964—later to be
supplemented by watercolors and oil on paper works—
emerge in groups, separated by long and intentional breaks.
In his approach to this art form, Richter avoids identifying
with his influences, while taking note of their presence. Like
Joseph Beuys and Blinky Palermo, he has reconnected with
the Romantic tradition in German art. When surveyed in
retrospect, Richter’s works on paper reveal themselves as the
silent counterpart to his paintings.
This lecture will be followed by a screening of the film
Gerhard Richter – Painting.
Film
Friday, June 22 at 8:30 p.m.
Gerhard Richter – Painting
Written and directed by Corinna Belz, Germany, 2010, 97
min., color, in German with French subtitles.
In the spring and summer of 2009, Corinna Belz captured the
painter Gerhard Richter at work in his studio on a series of
monumental abstract canvases. In this intelligent and
perceptive film, Belz gives us insight into Richter’s very
personal process of artistic creation. We observe him
constructing and tearing down, contemplating and
questioning, adopting and rejecting his paintings, which
themselves become the protagonists of the film.
The mission of Fonds Canson ® pour l’Art et le Papier is to
encourage, sponsor and promote the work of contemporary artists
who use paper as the medium for their creations.
www.fondscanson.com