Atlas /

Atlas is an important addition to the Richter bibliography. In addition to reproducing in its entirety the "Atlas" that Richter has maintained since 1962 of sketches and clippings from published sources, the book includes a brief but informative essay by Helmut Friedel suggesting relationships between images, their connections to Richter's paintings, and the changing format and sequences of additions that Richter has made to Atlas over time. Atlas is a critical research tool that provides sources for some of his paintings, and insights into the artist's working process his thinking about the role of photography in his paintings--a way to test his own statement that "one only makes a photo to make a photo, and if you're lucky, you will discover it later for a painting." Of particular note in the book are a catalog of the individual pages (which, unfortunately, does not identify the sources for the images) and an exhibition list that details the artist's selections of separate sheets from Atlas for different exhibitions--another insight into his thoughts about his work. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals. J. T. Paoletti Wesleyan University