Seestück I
Seestück I
Signed Print
Gerhard Richter
£12,000-£18,000
$24,000-$35,000 Value Indicator
$21,000-$30,000 Value Indicator
¥110,000-¥160,000 Value Indicator
€14,000-€21,000 Value Indicator
$110,000-$170,000 Value Indicator
¥2,300,000-¥3,450,000 Value Indicator
$15,000-$22,000 Value Indicator
AAGR (5 years) This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.
There aren't enough data points on this work for a comprehensive result. Please speak to a specialist by making an enquiry.
Medium: Lithograph
Edition size: 150
Year: 1969
Size: H 42cm x W 40cm
Signed: Yes
Format: Signed Print
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Auction Results
| Auction Date | Auction House | Location | Hammer Price | Return to Seller | Buyer Paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2023 | Christie's New York | United States | |||
| March 2021 | Christie's New York | United States | |||
| December 2020 | Phillips London | United Kingdom | |||
| September 2020 | Galerie Kornfeld | Germany | |||
| December 2018 | Sotheby's New York | United States | |||
| December 2018 | Van Ham Fine Art Auctions | Germany | |||
| November 2018 | Wright | United States |
Meaning & Analysis
Seestück I is a signed 1969 lithographic print by German artist Gerhard Richter. Issued in a limited edition of 150, it presents an archetypal example of Richter’s photorealistic approach to painting: a so-called ‘photo painting’ of a thalassic landscape scene. It is part of the Atlas series.
Marking a departure from the non-referential exploration of formal artistic concerns seen in works such as Schattenbild I (1968) and Schattenbild II (1968), and Richter’s ‘shadow paintings’ more generally, Seestück I constitutes an important meeting between the acclaimed German artist and another cornerstone of the contemporary: landscape painting. Depicting a cold, grey sea and an horizon line, with this image Richter reminds the viewer that abstraction is as much a product of the natural world as that of technology. Resembling a photograph, this piece is stunning in its granular detail, and a foremost example of the artist’s ‘blur’ technique.
The work’s indeterminacy constantly refers us to photographic technologies; yet the minutiae of Richter’s brushstrokes, barely visible yet hauntingly palpable, evoke not only a desire to record life as it is, but to create a unique, singular image that could only be produced by the human hand. Commenting on his ‘blur’ technique, Richter once said: ‘I blur things so that they do not look artistic or craftsmanlike but technological, smooth and perfect. I blur things to make all the parts a closer fit. Perhaps I also blur out the excess of unimportant information.’
