The painting “192 Farben” (“192 Colours”) by German artist Gerhard Richter will be auctioned off in London on October 14, in a sale expected to exceed £13 million ($15.1 million).

Painted in Düsseldorf in 1966, the work is considered a key work by the painter, who is one of the most influential living artists in the world.

The painting will be briefly exhibited at Sotheby’s German headquarters at Palais Oppenheim in Cologne on Thursday.

Richter, who is 90 years old, designed the two by one-and-a-half metre painting using industrial colour card patterns.

The work also forms the basis for his window in Cologne Cathedral, unveiled in 2007, probably his most popular work.

Since 1982, the colour field composition had belonged to the collector couple Elisabeth and Gerhard Sohst. From 1997 to 2022, the painting was on loan to the Hamburger Kunsthalle. © dpa