Gerhard Richter II... (To be continued)

4:12 p.m.

“I always wanted to make beautiful paintings. When I painted the candles… I did experience feelings to do with contemplation, remembering, silence and death."

Gerhard Richter

Gerhard Richter's Candle series belongs to the tradition of the "memento mori," a pictorial device that alludes to the inevitability of death. Throughout the artist's creative career, candles have acquired a singular significance, possibly related to his interest in the vanitas paintings of the 16th and 17th centuries. In an interview, Richter noted that candles not only evoke human finitude but also represent a form of silent protest against anti-democratic regimes. What began as a small painting evolved into a significant series, about which the artist commented: "It became something over which I no longer had control."

Regarding the technique employed, it is worth noting that the work simulates a blurred photograph; however, it is an oil painting meticulously executed from a photographic image, blurring the boundaries between the two mediums and resulting in a photorealistic painting. Richter's intention was to reproduce, through the use of the brush, the effect achieved by the camera, capturing reality as it is.