Gerhard Richter's Candles

Seen at the exhibition dedicated to the artist Gerhard Richter presented at the Louis Vuitton Foundation, this painting entitled Kerze, 1982*, of which I provide you, in part, with the explanatory label:

Like the skulls painted by Richter at the same period, this work is part of the pictorial tradition of memento mori, powerfully recalling the inevitability of death. "I always wanted to make beautiful paintings," said the artist. "When I painted the candles... I experienced feelings related to contemplation, remembrance, silence, and death." In 1995, a large reproduction of one of Richter's two paintings depicting two candles was exhibited in the public space for the fiftieth anniversary of the bombing of Dresden.

--

Gerhard Richter's candle paintings, created in the early 1980s, represent a modern meditation on the memento mori: hyperrealistic yet slightly blurred, they show an isolated, silent flame that evokes both the fragility of life, the passage of time, and the fading of images. Stripped of any narrative or religious context, composed of sober hues and a smooth surface inspired by photography, these works transform a simple motif into a universal symbol of finitude. Their apparent simplicity, which reconciles figuration and abstraction, opens up a contemplative space rather than a pathetic interpretation. Quickly becoming iconic, the Candles thus offer a minimalist, secular, and deeply sensitive version of the contemporary memento mori.

* Kerze, 1982. Oil on canvas. Institut d'art contemporain, Villeurbanne / Rhône-Alpes

Gerhard Richter. Fondation Louis Vuitton. From 17.10.2025 to 02.03.2026