This is a painting (not a photograph) of Gerhard Richter's from his October 18, 1977 series. On that date three members of the Red Army Faction (RAF), an extremist left-wing organization in Germany, were found dead in their prison cells. There are fifteen paintings in the series, all from police photos and newspaper clippings. Richter is a contemporary of Andy Warhols and has been equated with the pop art movement before, but rather than coca cola or campbell's soup cans he uses different icons, such as toilet paper or scenes of protest. Naturally Richter has too expansive a collection of work to be held to this one series; he has been acknowledged as one of the most important german artists since WWII and one of the best artists living today. I think this is a great painting because of the combination of the subject matter and the realistic look of a blurred photograph. The fact that it is actually a painting is disconcerting.
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