Fritz Köthe (1916 Berlin - 2005 ibid) 'CC', tempera and oil on canvas, 70 cm x 90 cm, monogrammed, dated 1968, additionally signed, dated and titled on the reverse, with some minor staining and scratchesLiterature: Cat. rais. Ohff, pl. 63The painter and commercial artist Fritz Köthe was among the leading proponents of the Pop Art and Photorealism movements in Germany. As a traveller between east and west, painting and graphic art, he experienced his first artistic success in the 1960s when he began painting exceedingly realistic close ups of advertising motifs in the manner of the American pop artists. In his monograph on the artist, Heinz Ohff writes of how Köthe transformed the "trite, mundane surrealism that surrounded him - and us - each day like a second nature" in high-contrast, hyperrealistic compositions. This work, masterfully painted in a photorealistic style, depicts the left front fender of a red 1950s Cadillac Eldorado. Köthe often combined the motifs of women and motor sports in his paintings. The shiny chrome of the radiator grille and bumper create an effective contrast to the bright red lacquer.