Gerhard Richter's Vierwaldstatter See (Lake Lucerne) is the lead lot of Christie's February 11 contemporary art auction in London.
The artist executed the piece as part of a major series undertaken from the later 1960s onwards that consists of renderings of black and white photographs in paint.
 The painting depicts Lake Lucerne in Switzerland |
An image of Lake Lucerne in Switzerland provided the source material.
Christie's comments: "Painted in 1969, Vierwaldst�?tter See emerges from a deeply creative moment in the artist's career and it was in this year that the sheer multiplicity of Richter's practice became apparent to the public.
"In the months leading up to the creation of Vierwaldst�?tter See Richter produced a series of Swiss Alpine landscapes.
"With their crisp detail these works are a radical counterpoint to his later interpretations of the alpine landscape visible in Vierwaldst�?tter See."
There is no estimate available for the work, but another of Richter's photo-paintings (titled Domplatz, Mailand) sold for $37.1m in 2013 - setting a new record for a piece of his work at auction.
Francis Bacon's Study for a Head (1955) is likely to prove another highlight with an undisclosed estimate.
Bacon's Three Studies for a Portrait of Lucian Freud sold for $142.4m at Christie's New York in 2013 - making it the most valuable painting ever auctioned.
Please sign up to our free newsletter to receive exciting news about art and antiques auctions.
