Townscape 1968

Gerhard Richter made this townscape painting with oil paint, probably alla prima, wet on wet. The painting’s made up of greys, blacks, and whites, and a limited range like that can be incredibly freeing. I bet Richter wasn’t thinking about making a masterpiece, but simply exploring. He’s probably thinking about what it feels like to see. See how the brushstrokes build up a surface? I love the way the texture gives the image some depth. That dark vertical mark, slightly off-center—it could be a doorway or some kind of architectural structure. It’s not precisely defined, and that ambiguity is where the magic happens. It's like he's wiping the image away, just as he’s conjured it. Richter lets you see his process, lets you into the studio. Painters are always in conversation with one another, and Richter is definitely talking to painters like Corot and Richter, but he’s got his own voice. And his voice is about doubt as much as anything else. He’s saying, I’m not sure, but let’s look together.