Mural by Gerhard Richter partially uncovered

It is the only surviving work in public space that documents the early years of the now world-famous artist Gerhard Richter. In 1956, the then 24-year-old Richter completed his studies at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts with the 63 m² mural »Lebensfreude« [Joie de Vivre]. The diploma work in a stairwell foyer of the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum in Dresden shows several stages in the life of a young couple in the suggested scenery of a socialist society. Individual motifs refer to art-historical models such as Botticelli, Manet, Matisse and Picasso.

In 1979, this early work by Richter was painted over for conservation reasons in order to restore the foyer to its original state. The painting was then largely forgotten until the early 1990s.

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