Kanarische Landschaften I - a

Like its close cousins Kanarische Landschaften II -f (1971) and Kanarische Landschaften I - e (1971), this work is a prime example of Richter’s early interest in the natural world and landscape painting. Striking for its realism, the work stands alongside other works, such as Schweizer Alpen I - B3 (1969) and Wolken (Clouds) (1969), as an early example of Richter’s desire to combine a photographic approach to painting with his keen eye for abstraction - a theme with which he could experiment more liberally from the 1970s onwards.

As an art student in Dresden, Richter was able to visit West Berlin twice a year. On his visit  to the allied-controlled segment of the former German capital, Richter was shocked by vibrant visual and artistic cultures of the kind that did not exist inside the Soviet sphere of influence. Films and exhibitions had an enormous effect on him, namely the famous The Family Of Man photography exhibition, organised by Edward Steichen of New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) Commenting on the photos at the exhibition, Richter has said: ‘‘They told so much about modern life, about my life,’ Richter credits The Family Of Life as the point at which he discovered the ‘power’ of photography - a medium to which he has returned time and time again, and which has served as the basis of a large number of his realist paintings. From Elisabeth II (1966) to Besetztes Haus (Squatter’s House) (1990) and Orchid II (1998), the photograph has been the cornerstone of Richter’s paintings, be they portrait-based, or concerned with architecture or the natural world.