Prague, April 25 (CTK) – The exhibition of Gerhard Richter, the most expensive living artist, that will open in the National Gallery (NG) in Prague on Wednesday and last until September 3, will be insured for the biggest value of all exhibitions so far held in the NG, its director Jiri Fajt told journalists yesterday.
The sum is higher than that of the successful exhibition of the artifacts from the era of Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia Charles IV (1316-1378) last year, Fajt said.
The insurance value of the unique medieval works of art was ten billion crowns, but in the case of Richter it is even higher, Fajt said.
Paintings from collections across the world were loaned for Richter’s exhibition.
It will include a donation of one of the four editions of portraits of 48 men in which Richter depicted the personalities of global politics, science and culture.
The series of oil paintings was created for the 1972 Venice Biennale. At present, there are four author’s editions. One is owned by Richter, one by a museum in Brussels, one by the London Tate Modern and the fourth will be gained by the NG now.
The series opens the whole exhibition of Richter’s paintings in the Kinsky Palace in Prague center.
The men’s portraits include those of Prague natives Franz Kafka and Reiner Maria Rilke.
Richter’s paintings sell for record sums.
In March, his Eisberg (Iceberg) sold for 20.4 million euros, becoming the most expensive auctioned landscape-painting.
Fajt said the painting would be added to the exhibition during its course.
Richter himself wants his work to be accessible to the public. This is why he also paints the pictures that can be bought by less wealthy collectors.
He paints series of paintings inspired by the place of his stay. He is also about to do so in Prague, where he has been since Sunday.
He will create the collection of 20 to 30 works of art that will be up for sale.
Fajt said the exhibition would be primarily important because it would present one of the basic creators of postwar world art in the Czech Republic.
Fajt said he also wanted to start presenting renowned German artists in the Czech Republic.
He said the NG was working on a retrospective exhibition of Georg Baselitz.
Fajt said he would like to complete the German “Big Four” with the exhibitions of Sigmar Polke and Anselm Kiefer.
He said he was also preparing an exhibition of the artistic group Der Blaue Reiter, cooperating with the museums in Barcelona and Brussels.
Richter’s exhibition of 70 paintings will be his first retrospective show in Central and Eastern Europe.
The exhibition is part of the Czech-German spring stressing the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Czech-German Declaration that put an end to the past disputes.
Fajt stressed that the NG primarily financed its exhibition programme from private sources.
“The Czech state did not contribute a single crown to Richter’s exhibition,” he added.
The budget of the Prague exhibition is 25-30 million crowns, Fajt said.
($1 = 24.706 crowns)
