A book on the work of German painter Gerhard Richter on the subject of the Nazi extermination camp of Birkenau won the Pierre Daix prize on Monday, which rewards works on the history of Art.
The prize was awarded to Éric de Chassey for “Giving things to see: images of Birkenau, from the Sonderkommando to Gerhard Richter”, published by Gallimard in May.
This prize is that of the entrepreneur and collector François Pinault and the Paris Bourse de Commerce, a historic monument which houses his collection. He is endowed with 10,000 euros.
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“Birkenau” is a set of four paintings created by Gerhard Richter in 2014, inspired by four clandestine photographs taken in 1944 near a crematorium.
These four so-called Sonderkommando photographs “are the only images directly documenting the process of extermination of the Jews of Europe by gassing and destruction of their remains”, recalled the prize jury in a press release.
In “Giving to see”, Éric de Chassey, director of the National Institute of Art History (INHA), conducts a critical investigation into the intentions and “contradictions” of Gerhard Richter, 92 years old today, when he makes these photographs into abstract canvases.
The paintings remain the property of the artist, who has signed a long-term loan to the City of Berlin.
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