Gerhard Richter was born on February 9, 1932 in Dresden. His parents are Horst and Hildegard Richter, and he has a sister named Gisela. Gerhard spent most of his childhood in the middle of a World War II, and so he was forced to move from place to place. Around age 16 Gerhard started discovering an interest in art. While in a Russian college by Zittau, Gerhard started taking painting classes along with his regular curriculum. Despite this, right after college Gerhard did not start a career in art right away. However, he later enrolled in the Dresden Art Academy to study painting. This launched him down his life’s path as an artist.

Richer started painting over photographs in 1986. Since then, Gerhard has created over 700 over painted photographs. He uses blurred photos as his canvas then proceeds to paint abstract paintings on top of them. Richter says that these works are another way for him to communicate in other languages. This is important to him because as a child in the middle of a war, Gerhard often could not talk to the natives. These works are meant to have a “considerable impact and striking effect”.