Abstraktes Bild (809-1)

The abstract painting is painted in the fall colours scarlet, emerald green, gold- end lemon yellow with spots of violet and Prussian blue.

The complicated and tedious, repeatedly interrupted process of its creation remains visible in the picture. The paint stripes or stains, which are quickly and randomly applied with a brush, are drawn down to the lower edge of the picture with the aid of a squeegee on the canvas, they dry, layers of other colours are applied here and there. Again, distributed with the squeegee randomly, they dry again, colour layers are here and there scraped off to the ground. These processes are repeated until the painter considers the painting as completed. The vertical and horizontal lines created by the movement of the board seem to give the picture, with its abundance of colours, a certain structure and convey a certain aspect of calm and harmony. Its creation process remains recognizable in the painting, but at the same time remains "veiled". According to the artist, these paintings are to a considerable extent dependent on chance and often contradict in their final version of his initial image idea.^[8]

The painting is signed, numbered and dated on the reverse.

• Gerhard Richter. Catalogue Raisonné 1993-2004. Dusseldorf 2005. P. 270 and 309, Nr. 809–1.