In the mid-1980’s, at a time when New York Neo-Conceptual artists were engaging with questions of image appropriation and reproduction, the German Neo-Expressionists were focused on the emotionality of paint. Gerhard Richter, uniquely explored both lines of inquiry, and began painting over photographs, starting a lifelong investigation into the dialogue between old and new media.

In his Museum Visit series, Richter merges photographic reproduction with abstract materiality, retaining the construct of the printed photograph while heavily applying lacquer to the surface. Museum Visit is Richter’s largest series of over-painted photographs, including over two hundred individual images. In the run-up to the Tate Modern’s retrospective Panorama (2011-12), Richter captured the flux of individuals attending the museum in a single day from a number of different view points. The waxing and waning flow of visitors is narrated through the artist’s colour choice of lacquer – bright and bold colours indicate large or active crowds passing through whereas white was used over scenes of fewer people.