Relations between Photography and Painting. Two Case Studies: Gerhard Richter and Jeff Wall

The doctoral thesis “Relations between Photography and Painting. Two Case Studies: Gerhard Richter and Jeff Wall” aims to examine some of the relationships that have been established between the photographic medium and the pictorial medium, taking as a point of departure the artistic context that emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s, which largely broke with the premises upheld by late modern art. This shift made it possible to construct a working space with broader horizons, stemming mainly from the hybridisation of different artistic media. The first part of the thesis analyses three concepts that we consider crucial for understanding this shift in the artistic field and which became essential conceptual paradigms for many of the artistic proposals of the period: the hybridisation and cross-contamination among different artistic media, allegory as a creative strategy, and the emergence of the concept of the simulacrum, understood as a substitute model of reality. However, the study does not focus solely on these three concepts in general terms; instead, the core of the research is devoted to the analysis of two specific artistic cases: the works of Gerhard Richter and Jeff Wall. These three notions permeate both artistic practices and, in fact, have consistently served as a driving force for studying the conceptual changes previously outlined. The research seeks to continually relate the concepts examined to the artists’ works, establishing possible connections that extend beyond the two artistic proposals themselves. Fully aware that the study could have been developed in relation to other artists—some of whom were considered during the research process—the decision was made to delve more deeply into the work of Richter and Wall in order to draw certain conclusions that might allow for a better understanding of their proposals, but above all to create conceptual links that can be contrasted with other artistic experiences by different creators, as well as with our own.