Elena Rossi
German visual artist Gerhard Richter is widely regarded as one of the most important contemporary German artists. His work encompasses abstract and photorealistic paintings, photographs, and glass pieces. One of his notable works is the 1988 painting 'Funeral', which is part of the series 'October 18, 1977'. The painting depicts the burial of Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, and Jan-Carl Raspe, terrorists from the Red Army Faction (RAF), and is based on a still from TV footage of the funeral. Richter's style in this painting involves blurring details, creating a sense of motion, and applying uniform horizontal smudges, resulting in an impressionistic and dynamic portrayal of a historical event.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date | 1988 |
| Style | New European Painting |
| Series | 18. Oktober 1977 |
| Genre | figurative |
| Size | 3-metre-wide |
| Colours | Light and dark grey tones |
| Brushwork | Horizontally smudged |
| Subject | Burial of Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin and Jan-Carl Raspe |
| Composition | Three light-coloured coffins in the centre, carried diagonally towards the background; a crowd of people lining a path; solitary figures in the foreground |
| Motion | A sense of movement is created through the use of blur |
| Historical Context | Depicts the funeral of terrorists from the Red Army Faction (RAF) |
| Artist's Background | German visual artist, born in 1932, known for abstract and photorealistic paintings, photographs, and glass pieces |
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What You'll Learn
Gerhard Richter's Funeral is a history painting
Gerhard Richter is a German visual artist, born in 1932 in Dresden, Germany. He is regarded as one of the most important contemporary German artists, with his works setting record prices at auction. Richter's oeuvre includes abstract and photorealistic paintings, photographs, and glass pieces.
'Funeral' (1988) is one of Richter's most notable works. It is a large-format painting that depicts the burial of Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, and Jan-Carl Raspe, members of the Red Army Faction (RAF), a terrorist organisation. The painting is based on a still from TV footage of the funeral, which took place on 27 October 1977 in Stuttgart, Germany.
'Funeral' is often referenced in discussions about Richter's engagement with history painting. While the painting fulfils the formal criteria of traditional history painting in terms of its size, Richter's subject matter and treatment diverge from the conventions of the genre. Traditionally, history painting depicted the heroes of important historical events in minute detail, often glorifying or legitimising the state. In contrast, Richter's 'Funeral' portrays the funeral of failed terrorists who fought against the state, and the painting blurs the details of the scene.
The purpose of 'Funeral' as a history painting is not to provide a detailed depiction of an event or to present a historical truth. Instead, it serves as a reminder of a specific occurrence, inviting viewers to recall the event without stipulating how they should remember it. Richter achieves this by applying a uniform horizontal blur to the painting, creating a sense of motion and progression. From a distance, one can discern a crowd lining a path, but up close, only light and dark grey tones are visible.
Through 'Funeral', Richter challenges the traditional narrative of history painting, transferring the classic genre into the present and posing questions rather than providing answers or glorification.
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Richter's work blurs the details of the event
Gerhard Richter is a German visual artist, born in 1932, who is widely regarded as one of the most important contemporary German artists. He has produced abstract and photorealistic paintings, photographs, and glass pieces. Richter's work often blurs the details of the events and subjects it portrays. This is certainly the case for his painting 'Funeral' (1988).
'Funeral' depicts the burial of Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, and Jan-Carl Raspe, German terrorists from the Red Army Faction (RAF), at the Dornhaldenfriedhof in Stuttgart on 27 October 1977. The painting is based on a still from TV footage of the day of the funeral, with the camera positioned at a distance. Richter's painting shows three bright coffins in the centre, carried in a diagonal line towards the background of the painting. The route is lined by a crowd of people that stretches to a line of trees in the background. Some solitary figures are discernible in the foreground on the right, but their faces are indistinct.
By blurring the details, Richter's purpose is not to create a detailed depiction of an event or a historical truth, but rather to invite the beholder to recall the event without stipulating how they should remember it. This blurring of details is a technique Richter has used in other works, such as his early images of tabloid sensations and his later works of cityscapes and landscapes.
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The painting depicts the burial of terrorists
The painting Funeral by Gerhard Richter depicts the burial of Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, and Jan-Carl Raspe, terrorists of the Red Army Faction (RAF) in Stuttgart on 27 October 1977. The three bright coffins in which they are carried to their graves are clearly recognisable in the centre of the painting, with a crowd of people lining their route.
Richter's work is often used as a reference for his engagement with the genre of history painting. Funeral is the largest painting in the cycle October 18, 1977, fulfilling one of the formal criteria of traditional history painting, though Richter treats a contemporary subject. In contrast to traditional history paintings that depict the heroes of important historical or contemporary events in minute detail, Richter blurs the details of the funeral of failed terrorists.
The three-metre-wide painting appears as a collection of light and dark grey tones up close, but from a distance, the crowd of people lining the path becomes distinguishable. Richter's use of a uniform horizontal blur creates a sense of motion, emphasising the progression of the funeral procession and the process of parting.
Richter's purpose in this history painting is not to create a detailed depiction of an event or a historical truth, but to remind viewers of a certain event and invite them to recall it. The painting Funeral is based on a still from TV footage of the day of the funeral, with Richter choosing a take showing the events from a distance.
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The painting is three metres wide
Gerhard Richter's Funeral is a large-format painting, measuring three metres in width. This size is notable as it fulfils one of the formal criteria of traditional history painting, despite the subject being contemporary. The painting depicts the burial of Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, and Jan-Carl Raspe, terrorists from the Red Army Faction (RAF). The work is based on a still from TV footage of the funeral, which took place on 27 October 1977.
Funeral is a striking example of Richter's engagement with the genre of history painting. While traditional history paintings glorify heroes of important events, Richter's work shows the funeral of failed terrorists who fought against the state. The painting is characterised by a uniform horizontal blur, which gives the impression of movement and progression.
The size of the painting is significant in creating this sense of motion. When viewed from up close, only light and dark grey tones can be recognised, horizontally smudged together. It is only when one steps back that the crowd of people lining the path becomes apparent. This blurring of details is intentional, as Richter aimed to remind viewers of the event rather than create a detailed depiction of it.
The three-metre width of the painting thus becomes a crucial element in understanding Funeral. The size allows Richter to play with distance and perspective, inviting viewers to move back and forth to gain different interpretations of the work. This interactivity enhances the sense of motion within the painting and emphasises the theme of progression and parting.
The width of Funeral, therefore, serves a specific artistic purpose within the context of the painting's subject matter and style. It is a key element in Richter's examination of history painting and his exploration of movement and progression through the use of blurring techniques.
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Richter's work is often abstract
Gerhard Richter is a German visual artist whose work encompasses a range of styles, including both abstract and photorealistic paintings, photographs, and glass pieces. While he intentionally avoids classification, his paintings are often described as abstract.
Richter's abstract style is evident in his use of broad sweeps of colour, applied with wide brushes and large squeegees, which he adds and removes to create a sense of motion and embed risks and rewards in the emerging work. This technique results in densely layered and dragged pigments, as seen in his Birkenau series. This series, created in 2014, consists of four large abstract paintings and four full-sized digital reproductions based on clandestine photographs smuggled out of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp during World War II. By projecting these photographs onto canvas and tracing them, Richter created abstract, illegible depictions that convey the horror of the original images through heavily disturbed, ruptured surfaces.
Richter's abstract style also extends to his exploration of different formats, such as his use of stark charts of random colours and transparent glass in place of canvas. His work in glass is particularly notable, with pieces like the installation "House of Cards" (2020) and the immense stained-glass window he created for Cologne Cathedral in 2007. These experimental works showcase his interest in varying his approach to represent the world and exploring the possibilities of different mediums.
While some of Richter's paintings, like "Funeral" (1988), are based on specific events or photographs, he often blurs and abstracts the details. In "Funeral," which depicts the interment of three terrorists, Richter chose a take that shows the events from a distance, with indistinct faces in the crowd. This blurring effect, along with his use of dragged paint over photographs, adds a layer of abstraction to his work, reflecting his suspicion of images and their conveyed "reality."
Richter's abstract style is also evident in his early work, "Table" (1962), where he painted over a photograph of a table with tachiste gestural marks, overlapping the image and creating an abstract effect. This exploration of abstraction continued throughout his career, with critics noting his use of "abstraction, expansiveness, and emptiness to express transcendent emotion through painting." Thus, while Richter's work encompasses a range of styles, his frequent use of abstraction plays a significant role in shaping the impact and interpretation of his art.
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Frequently asked questions
The Funeral painting by Richter depicts the burial of Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, and Jan-Carl Raspe, terrorists of the Red Army Faction (RAF) at the Dornhaldenfriedhof in Stuttgart on 27 October 1977.
The Funeral is a large-format painting that measures three metres wide. Up close, only light and dark grey tones can be recognised, but from a distance, one can distinguish a crowd of people, lining a path. The painting is based on a still from material filmed by TV cameras on the day of the funeral, with a horizontal blur to create a sense of motion.
The Funeral is often cited as an example of Gerhard Richter's examination of history painting. As the largest painting in the cycle October 18, 1977, it fulfils the formal criteria of traditional history painting, but Richter treats a contemporary subject and blurs the details. Richter's work poses questions rather than glorifying or legitimising the state.
