Gerhard Richter was born in 1932 in Dresden, where he lived until 1961. From 1951 to 1956 he studied at the Art Academy in Dresden and from 1961 to 1963 at the Art Academy in Düsseldorf. Gerhard Richter is regarded as one of the most important painters of the present day, and his extensive and diverse oeuvre has gained international recognition over the past five decades. Throughout his prolific career, Gerhard Richter has explored painting through a rich and varied spectrum of ideas, ranging from realistic works based on found images and photographs, to abstractions made with a squeegee, to two- and three-dimensional glass works, abstract drawings, and painted-over photographs of images from everyday life. His work was of great influence for several generations.

Gerhard Richter received numerous major awards, including the State Prize of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Düsseldorf, 2000; the Praemium Imperiale Award, Japan, 1997; the Golden Lion of the 47th Biennale, Venice, 1997; the Kaiserring Prize of the City of Goslar, Germany, 1988; and the Oskar Kokoschka Prize, Vienna, 1985.