This image represents a two-dimensional work of art, such as a
drawing,
painting,
print, or similar creation. The
copyright for this image is likely owned by either the
artist who created it, the
individual who commissioned the work, or their
legal heirs. It is believed that the use of
low-resolution images of artworks:
for purposes of
critical commentary on:
- the specific work in question,
- the artistic genre or technique employed in the artwork, or
- the artistic school or tradition to which the artist is associated,
qualifies as
fair use under
copyright law.
Any other use of this image, could potentially constitute a copyright infringement.
‘Candles’ was a series of paintings by Gerhard Richter. The 1983 portrait of a single candle, referred to as ‘Kertz’ in German, is preserved in The Art Institute of Chicago. Frances Outred, at the Christie Auction House, during the 2011 Post-War & Contemporary Art gallery, spoke at length about this painting. He exclaimed that this painting “illuminated the room”. Richter was born in East Germany. He was brought up there but in 1961, a few years before the collapse of the Berlin Wall, he somehow escaped to West Germany. He grew up in an oppressive atmosphere of dogma and fundamentalism. Outred speaks of this painting as a “silent protest” against the regime that stifled hope and freedom for many. This painting exudes sheer warmth and as Outred remarks, it symbolizes both the hopefulness of living and the mortality of it. ‘Candle’ is a work of photographic nature, akin to a few other paintings he made in the 1980s like ‘Betty’. These paintings were far from the radical abstractions he attempted in the 1960s but still managed to impact with profound honesty.