Wolfgang Gäfgen's 1971 work "Coat" is a graphite drawing on paper that demonstrates the German artist's exacting standards and unfussy realism. This piece was part of the prestigious René Withofs collection and is distinguished by its exceptional history: it was exhibited in 1972 at the Centre Pompidou during the historic exhibition "60-72: Twelve Years of Contemporary Art," a major event in the recognition of contemporary art in France.

Through a lucid and stripped-down hyperrealism, Gäfgen manages to give a coat abandoned on a sofa a striking presence, capturing the slightest crease and reflection with manic patience. This work offers not only an illusion of materials and textures, but also a meditation on the human trace and the theme of confinement, recurrent in his work. A rare piece, inseparable from the trajectory of European contemporary art, and marked by its passage in a prestigious collection and a major museum exhibition.

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Wolfgang Gäfgen (1936-2024) was a German printmaker, draftsman, and photographer, renowned for his hyperrealist works and his ability to capture the materiality of the most ordinary objects. Trained in Hamburg with figures from the Bauhaus and at the Stuttgart Academy of Fine Arts, Gäfgen moved to Paris in 1961 where he perfected the art of printmaking. A professor at the Stuttgart Academy of Fine Arts for many years, he influenced several generations of artists. Invited to documenta 6 in 1977, he is recognized for his drawings of coats, bags, fabrics, and wrapped objects, which question the viewer's gaze and memory. His career is punctuated by prestigious exhibitions, including that of the Centre Pompidou in 1972, which celebrated his singular approach to poetic realism.

This work and its author are essential references in contemporary drawing, and bear witness to a fertile dialogue between tradition and modernity.