Schweizer Alpen I - B3
Schweizer Alpen I - B3
Signed Print
Gerhard Richter
£14,000-£21,000 VALUE (EST.)
$26,000-$40,000 VALUE (EST.)
$23,000-$35,000 VALUE (EST.)
¥120,000-¥190,000 VALUE (EST.)
€16,000-€24,000 VALUE (EST.)
$140,000-$200,000 VALUE (EST.)
¥2,430,000-¥3,650,000 VALUE (EST.)
$17,000-$26,000 VALUE (EST.)
This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
Screenprint, 1969
Signed Print Edition of 300
H 69cm x W 70cm
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Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Artwork | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2019 | Ketterer Kunst Hamburg - Germany | Schweizer Alpen I - B3 - Signed Print | |||
| June 2016 | Ketterer Kunst Hamburg - Germany | Schweizer Alpen I - B3 - Signed Print | |||
| June 2015 | Van Ham Fine Art Auctions - Germany | Schweizer Alpen I - B3 - Signed Print | |||
| May 2009 | Lempertz, Cologne - Germany | Schweizer Alpen I - B3 - Signed Print | |||
| October 2006 | Ketterer Kunst Hamburg - Germany | Schweizer Alpen I - B3 - Signed Print | |||
| March 2004 | Lempertz, Cologne - Germany | Schweizer Alpen I - B3 - Signed Print |
Meaning & Analysis
This signed print is the work of venerated German artist, Gerhard Richter. Part of the Swiss Alps collection, it was issued in 1969 in an edition of 300. Like other works in the Swiss Alps collection, the print constitutes an expressionistic, semi-abstract depiction of a mountainous landscape.
Depicting the light-illuminated slopes to the left of a rocky, mountainous arête, and the dark, plunging depths to its right, Schweizer Alpen I - B3 sees Richter use broad strokes to offer an impressionistic view of his subject matter. Reminiscent of a digital image, each different tone present within the print contrasts with those around it, creating the effect of negative space; this subsequently aligns the print with abstraction. When looking at this print, it is difficult not to infer a sense of Richter’s inspiration by the German Romantic movement and artists such as Caspar David Friedrich.
Utilising a different colour scheme to its close cousin, Shweizer Alpen II - A2, this print is an uncharacteristically loose, expressive rendition of the traditional landscape painting. Why uncharacteristically loose? During the late 1960s, Richter had begun experimenting with the depiction of landscape in what was seen as a thematic departure from his focus on historical portraits, such as the famed Elisabeth II (1966). These early works, which Richter named ‘photo paintings’, were moody, monochromatic, and photorealist in style. Comprising seascapes, such as Seestück I (1969) and like-for-like transcriptions of clouds, such as Wolke (Cloud) (1969), they foretell of Richter’s sustained practice of ‘blurring’ his paintings. This practice is designed to remove unwanted detail, and to make images look ‘technological’.
