Funeral

(Beerdigung)

1988. Oil on Canvas
200 cm X 320 cm

View larger, detailed image

This largest painting of the cycle is of the massive funeral of Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin, and Jan-Carl Raspe in a Stuttgart cemetery a week after their deaths in Stammheim prison in 1977. Ensslin's father had struggled to find a cemetery that would allow him to bury his daughter. Manfred Rommel, the popular mayor of Stuttgart (and son of war hero Irwin Rommel), unilaterally decided that the terrorists must be allowed to be buried in a Stuttgart cemetery. "After death, all enmity must cease," said Rommel.

 

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