Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Gerhard Richter

Quote by Gerhard Richter

Work

Gerhard Richter: Forty Years of Painting

Gerhard Richter: Forty Years of Painting is a detailed chronicle of the works of the renowned German artist Gerhard Richter. The book delves into Richter's diverse artistic journey, highlighting his transition from abstract to figurative painting and his exploration of themes such as history, memory, and reality. It features a collection of his most significant works, accompanied by critical analysis and commentary. more

Author

Gerhard Richter
Gerhard Richter

German visual artist known for his unique painting style and diverse creative techniques. Richter's works span a wide range of styles from abstraction to figuration, and his career has spanned over half a century, profoundly influencing contemporary art. more

You May Also Like

“Of course I constantly despair at my own incapacity, at the impossibility of ever accomplishing anything, of painting a valid, true picture or even knowing what such a thing ought to look like. But then I always have the hope that, if I persevere, it might one day happen. And this hope is nurtured every time something appears, a scattered, partial, initial hint of something which reminds me of what I long for, or which conveys a hint of it – although often enough I have been fooled by a momentary glimpse that then vanishes, leaving behind only the usual thing.”

IfsLooksLongHas BeensEnoughMightHappensCoursesMy OwnBehindsKnowingPaintingOughtOne DayDespairLeavingUsualGlimpseImpossibilityInitialsPersevereHintsFooledMomentaryIncapacityAccomplishing Anything
Book:Gerhard Richter: writings 1961-2007
Create image

“My landscapes are not only beautiful, or nostalgic, with a Romantic or classical suggestion of lost Paradises, but above all 'untruthful.' By 'untruthful,' I mean the glorifying way we look at Nature. Nature, which in all its forms is always against us, because it knows no meaning, no pity, no sympathy, because it knows nothing and is absolutely mindless, the total antithesis of ourselves.”

KnowsWayLooksMeanBeautifulFormLostPityLandscapeParadiseSuggestionsNostalgicMindlessAntithesisNo Sympathy
Author:Gerhard Richter
Create image

“I pursue no objectives, no systems, no tendency; I have no program, no style, no direction. I have no time for specialized concerns, working themes, or variations that lead to mastery. I steer clear of definitions. I don’t know what I want. I am inconsistent, non-committal, passive; I like the indefinite, the boundless; I like continual uncertainty.”

KnowsWantClearStyleConcernProgramDefinitionsObjectivesTendenciesPursueUncertaintyThemeMasteryPassiveVariationBoundlessSteersInconsistent
Book:Gerhard Richter: Forty Years of Painting
Create image

“I sit for two or three hours and then in 15 minutes I can do a painting, but that's part of it. You have to get ready and decide to jump up and do it; you build yourself up psychologically, and so painting has no time for brush. Brush is boring, you give it and all of a sudden it's dry, you have to go. Before you cut the thought, you know?”

KnowsInspirationalGivingArtI CanTwoTimeThreeCan DoHoursCuttingMinutesBuildingPaintingReadyPaintBoringPainterBoredDryBrushesSculptors
Author:Cy Twombly
Create image