--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A work of art is itself an object, first…" description: "\"A work of art is itself an object, first of all, and so manipulation is unavoidable: it's a prerequisite. But I needed the greater objectivity of the p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0d/gerhard-richter-2249_art_a-work-of-art-is-itself-an-object-first_77845.jpg" --- # A work of art is itself an object, first of all, and so… ![“A work of art is itself an object, first of all, and so manipulation is unavoidable: it's a prerequisite. But I needed the greater objectivity of the photograph in order to correct my own way of seeing: for instance, if I draw an object from nature, I start to stylize and to change it in…” quote by Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0d/gerhard-richter-2249_art_a-work-of-art-is-itself-an-object-first_77845.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0d/gerhard-richter-2249_art_a-work-of-art-is-itself-an-object-first_77845.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0d/gerhard-richter-2249_art_a-work-of-art-is-itself-an-object-first_77845.jpg) > “A work of art is itself an object, first of all, and so manipulation is unavoidable: it's a prerequisite. But I needed the greater objectivity of the photograph in order to correct my own way of seeing: for instance, if I draw an object from nature, I start to stylize and to change it in accordance with my personal vision and my training. But if I paint from a photograph, I can forget all the criteria that I get from these sources. I can paint against my will, as it were. And that, to me, felt like an enrichment.” [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The artist uses photography to break personal bias, allowing a more objective visual reference that expands creative possibilities. **In simple terms:** Photography provides objective reference for artistic enrichment. Key Takeaway Photographic reference can liberate artistic perception. Themes objectivity perception artistic process media interplay self-awareness Mood curious reflective inspired Type statement philosophical process When to use this quote - when an artist feels stuck in personal style - to overcome habitual stylization - to explore new visual approaches - to challenge personal biases Key Concepts photography as tool subjectivity vs. objectivity creative enrichment visual perception Practical Applications - using photos to inform painting - integrating photography into visual art practice Questions to Reflect On - How does external reference reshape personal artistic vision? - What balance should be struck between objectivity and personal expression? A Different Perspective Some argue that reliance on photographs may diminish originality, but the artist views it as a catalyst for deeper insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Manipulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manipulation/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Objectivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/objectivity/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Personal vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-vision/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Training](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/training/) [Vision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vision/) [Works of art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/works-of-art/) ## Related quotes > [When I’m working with materials it’s not just the leaf or the stone, it’s the processes that are behind them that are important. That’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-goldsworthy/when-i-m-working-with-materials-it-s-not-just-the-leaf-or-the-stone/) [Andy Goldsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-goldsworthy/) > [Close scrutiny of an object in nature will nearly always yield some significant fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burroughs/close-scrutiny-of-an-object-in-nature-will-nearly-always-yield-some/) [John Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burroughs/) > [Every object in nature is impressed with God's footsteps, and every day repeats the wonders of creation. There is not an object, be it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-guthrie/every-object-in-nature-is-impressed-with-god-s-footsteps-and-every/) [Thomas Guthrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-guthrie/) > [By the artist's seizing any one object from nature, that object no longer is part of nature. One can go so far as to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/by-the-artist-s-seizing-any-one-object-from-nature-that-object-no/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Joy needs no object; it is our own nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/joy-needs-no-object-it-is-our-own-nature/) [Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/) > [Theory has nothing to do with a work of art. Pictures which are interpretable, and which contain a meaning, are bad pictures. A picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/theory-has-nothing-to-do-with-a-work-of-art-pictures-which-are-2/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [My advice to any budding artist is never to be satisfied with imitating others. This is but a means to an end. A serious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-kenna/my-advice-to-any-budding-artist-is-never-to-be-satisfied-with/) [Michael Kenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-kenna/) > [“Who decides the parameters of this real world, where the initiation seems like self-sacrifice? Give up your personal vision of happiness in exchange for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-friedman/who-decides-the-parameters-of-this-real-world-where-the-initiation/) [Rachel Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-friedman/) > [It is the unexpected and the surprise quality of a personal vision, rather than the emotion, which make people respond to a photograph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexey-brodovitch/it-is-the-unexpected-and-the-surprise-quality-of-a-personal-vision/) [Alexey Brodovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexey-brodovitch/) > [People are more inclined to be drawn in if their leader has a compelling vision. Great leaders help people get in touch with their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-are-more-inclined-to-be-drawn-in-if-their-leader-has-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The great artists are those who impose their personal vision upon humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-maupassant/the-great-artists-are-those-who-impose-their-personal-vision-upon/) [Guy de Maupassant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-maupassant/) > [“To lead, you must have two visions: (1) a personal vision of your God-ordained self, and (2) a vision of the mission God purposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-walker-wade/to-lead-you-must-have-two-visions-1-a-personal-vision-of-your-god/) [Michelle Walker-Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-walker-wade/) > [The only quality that endures in art is a personal vision of the world. Methods are transient: personality is enduring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-hopper/the-only-quality-that-endures-in-art-is-a-personal-vision-of-the/) [Edward Hopper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-hopper/) > [Words are what make the song. I get a personal vision about what the lyrics are about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-andrews/words-are-what-make-the-song-i-get-a-personal-vision-about-what-the/) [Julie Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-andrews/) > [While photography is the easiest medium in which to be competent, it is the hardest in which to develop an idiosyncratic personal vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-close/while-photography-is-the-easiest-medium-in-which-to-be-competent-it/) [Chuck Close](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-close/) ## More by Gerhard Richter > [Art shows us how to see things that are constructive and good, and to be an active part of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/art-shows-us-how-to-see-things-that-are-constructive-and-good-and-to/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [They are specific places I have discovered here and there when I am on the road to take photos. I go especially to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/they-are-specific-places-i-have-discovered-here-and-there-when-i-am/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [To me, grey is the welcome and only possible equivalent for indifference, noncommitment, absence of opinion, absence of shape. But grey, like formlessness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/to-me-grey-is-the-welcome-and-only-possible-equivalent-for/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Now that we do not have priests and philosophers any more, artists are the most important people in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/now-that-we-do-not-have-priests-and-philosophers-any-more-artists-are/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Yes, we were amazed when that happened. It was a real joke to us. Konrad Lueg and I did a Happening, and we used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/yes-we-were-amazed-when-that-happened-it-was-a-real-joke-to-us-konrad/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [The photograph is the only picture that can truly convey information, even if it is technically faulty and the object can barely be identified.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/the-photograph-is-the-only-picture-that-can-truly-convey-information/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Perhaps the choice is a negative one, in that I was trying to avoid everything that touched on well-known issues - or any issues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/perhaps-the-choice-is-a-negative-one-in-that-i-was-trying-to-avoid/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [Gray is the color... the most important of all... absent of opinion, nothing, neither/nor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/gray-is-the-color-the-most-important-of-all-absent-of-opinion-nothing/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [All photographs are far more important than any painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/all-photographs-are-far-more-important-than-any-painting/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [You can compare it to dreams: you have a very specific and individual pictorial language that you either accept or that you can translate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/you-can-compare-it-to-dreams-you-have-a-very-specific-and-individual/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [What attracted me about my mirrors was the idea of having nothing manipulated in them. A piece of bought mirror. Just hung there, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/what-attracted-me-about-my-mirrors-was-the-idea-of-having-nothing/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [But it is also untrue that I have nothing specific in mind. As with my landscapes: I see countless landscapes, photograph barely 1 in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/but-it-is-also-untrue-that-i-have-nothing-specific-in-mind-as-with-my/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [My landscapes are not only beautiful or nostalgic, with a Romantic or classical suggestion of lost Paradises, but above all 'untruthful'...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/my-landscapes-are-not-only-beautiful-or-nostalgic-with-a-romantic-or/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [I have always been structured. What has changed is the proportions. Now it is eight hours of paperwork and one of painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/i-have-always-been-structured-what-has-changed-is-the-proportions-now/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [The smudging makes the paintings a bit more complete. When they're not blurred, so many details seem wrong, and the whole thing is wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/the-smudging-makes-the-paintings-a-bit-more-complete-when-they-re-not/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) [Explore all 176 Gerhard Richter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A work of art is itself an object, first of all, and so manipulation is unavoidable: it's a prerequisite. 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