The work 'Curtain' by Gerhard Richter acts as a symbol in this exhibition: the curtain opens to reveal the collection, its diversity and its many hidden treasures, often unknown to the public. The painting is the latest addition to the collection, having been on permanent loan to the Von der Heydt Museum since the end of 2024.
However, this is not the first time the painting has been in Wuppertal: painted in 1965, it came to the important Wuppertal collection of Gustav Adolf and Stella Baum via the Schmela Gallery in Düsseldorf.
"Curtain is part of a group of works that Richter produced between 1964 and 1967. The origin of these motifs lies in an earlier portrait of the gallery owner Alfred Schmela, in the background of which the artist was struck by a curtain. Its seemingly abstract structure, rounded shapes and contrasts of light and dark inspired Richter to explore this everyday motif.
In an almost intimate square format, Richter condensed the gentle movement of the folds. Painted entirely in shades of grey, the painting is striking for the almost tangible presence of the heavy fabric, despite its motivic simplicity. It is a masterpiece between illusionism and abstraction, typical of Richter's work at the time.
"At some point I was no longer satisfied with painting photographs; I took the stylistic devices of photography - precision, blurriness, illusion - and used them to make doors, curtains and pipes," is how Gerhard Richter himself described the artistic process.
- Material & Technik
- Öl auf Leinwand
- Museum
- Von der Heydt Museum
- Datierung
- 1965
- Inventarnummer
- D 0223