Hanged

(Erhängte)

1988. Oil on Canvas
201 cm X 140 cm

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This haunting image is of the dead body of Gudrun Ensslin, hanging from her Stammheim prison cell. It is the first image of the cycle to directly depict events from October 19, 1977, also known as Death Night. According to the official version of events, upon hearing of the storming of a hijacked Lufthansa plane by German GSG-9 counterterrorism forces, Ensslin took a speaker wire, threaded it through the wire mesh of her window, formed a noose, put it around her neck, and kicked aside the chair that she was standing upon.

 

Original source image

 

 

 

 

 

 

"October 18, 1977"

An Exhibit by Gerhard Richter

In the permanent collection of The Museum of Modern Art, New York City, NY

Buy the Book (Amazon US)
Buy the Book(Amazon Germany)
Gerhard Richter: October 18, 1977
by Robert Storr
Published by The Museum of Modern Art
152 Pages, hardbound

This book is extraordinary. It offers intriguing detail about Richter's art, detailed, footnoted background on the Baader-Meinhof era, and in-depth analysis of the "October 18, 1977" cycle. The book could be considered a full-length justification for MOMA's extraordinary and costly purchase of Richter's cycle. I think the book makes its case beautifully.

Note: the book is out of print, but people can often find used copies through the Amazon link for a reasonable price. The German version is still in print and used and new versions are available from the Amazon Germany link

-- Richard Huffman